


Once Upon a Time in the Commonwealth

by ReyMaraJynJainaDanvers



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Confessions, Confusion, Domestic Fluff, Dreams and Nightmares, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Photographs, Self-Harm, Smut, Unexpected Suprises, suprises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:11:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 126,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyMaraJynJainaDanvers/pseuds/ReyMaraJynJainaDanvers
Summary: Cait was ready to give up on life. Little did she know that one chance encounter would change her world forever.
Relationships: Cait (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s), Cait/Female Sole Survivor, Cait/Sole Survivor (Fallout)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 107





	1. Chance Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I'm very new to this.
> 
> I've read many fanfic stories (mainly Star Wars and Fallout) but never had the confidence to write my own. Other stories and writers are just so good. 
> 
> But, anyway, here is my best attempt.

“Get up! You’re fightin’ today!”

Tommy’s rude awakening was the last thing that Cait wanted to her; but she’d heard it so many times before.

“I fought all fuckin’ day yesterday, Tommy” Cait groaned from the old mattress that she called a bed.

“You did, and you made a lot a’ caps. But those shitheads out there are expectin’ a show; and you make ‘em spend. So, get up and give ‘em a show, little bird.”

‘I told ya to stop fuckin’ callin’ me that!” Cait called out as Tommy left the room.

Tommy’s departure left Cait alone with her thoughts. Cait fell back on her bed and, for what seemed like an eternity, just stared at the chipped and rotten ceiling above her.

Eventually, Cait sat up and moved to the edge of the mattress and looked around at her world. Cait’s quarters were in an old dressing room from the days before the bombs. But, today, no famous and glamorous people worked here anymore; just psychos, junkies, and lunatics. Cait fitted all of those profiles.

 _“You little fuckin’ rat”_ , a low voice muttered inside Cait’s head. Cait put her head in her hands and began to rock back and forth. “Stop it! Stop it! Get out and leave me alone.” Cait mumbled through gritted teeth. As the voices got louder and louder, Cait realised that she needed to shoot up.

Cait quickly looked to the assortment of items next to her mattress and picked up a dark syringe and two canisters attached to it. Cait looked down at the syringe in her hand and made a face of utter disgust. Cait hated what she held in her hand, but she couldn’t live without it. Before she could talk herself out of it, however, Cait stuck the needle at the base of her forearm and allowed the liquid inside to course through her veins. 

Eventually, the voices inside Cait’s head began to subside as the liquid inside the syringe began to take effect. Before long, she was alone once again. Cait sighed heavily and closed her eyes. Why did she keep doing this? Why did she spend her life in this shithole excuse for a world to just get beaten up day after day?

Cait opened her eyes and fixed her attention on the one thing that had protected her in this miserable life. She reached across from the mattress and retrieved her shotgun from the floor and held it tightly in her hands. This object had been Cait’s protector ever since she became a free woman. It was the only thing that she could truly call a friend. It was littered with marks and stains, but Cait always made sure that the machinery inside was clean.

Cait adjusted the gun in her hands so that she was staring directly down the barrel. Maybe this was the day she would finally do it. After all the misery she had been through, maybe, she would finally say goodbye to the Commonwealth.

Cait took a deep breath, placed the end of the barrel under her chin, and squeezed the trigger.

But nothing happened. Cait couldn’t do it. Something in her head was stopping her, something that Cait couldn’t understand.

Cait eventually accepted her cowardice and screamed loudly as she violently threw her shotgun across the room. Cait then hugged her knees to her chest and let a single solitary tear fall down her cheek.

 _“Get your arse down here, Little Bird! The punters are expectin’ a show!!”_ Tommy shouted from the stage level.

‘I’m coming!!” Cait shouted indignantly.

* * *

In the silent and empty streets of downtown Boston, a lone raider crawled towards his weapon. As he dragged himself away, a steady stream of blood was left in his wake. Further down the street he spotted his salvation, a pipe pistol. If he didn’t get to it, he would be finished.

Just as he reached the gun, a heavy boot kicked the pistol away. That same heavy boot then rolled him onto his back. It was then that he caught a glimpse of his attacker; and what he saw shocked him. Standing over him was a young woman wearing, what looked like, an old and slightly tattered vault suit and a heavy overcoat.

“Please don’t shoot! I don’t wanna die!’ the raider begged.

“You shouldn’t have shot at me then.” the stranger said unfeelingly from behind a heavy pair of sunglasses.

“You fucking bitch- ” the raider exclaimed before a bullet plastered his brains all over the street.

As the echoes of the gunshot died away, the stranger took her boot off the fresh corpse and slipped her pistol back into a leather holster strapped to her leg. It was then that a cool breeze blew through the silent and empty streets. The stranger took a breath, savouring the taste of the fresh air. In the dry climate of the wasteland, a cool breeze was always a relief. 

As the cool breeze died down, the stranger’s attention was drawn to a recognisable, but unfamiliar, sound coming from the one of the buildings further down the street. It sounded like cheering.

The stranger began to walk, deeply intrigued by the sound. It seemed to be coming one of the abandoned buildings. At the next corner, the stranger turned left and came to a narrow street that lead to the entrance of, what looked like, a run-down theatre. Emblazoned above a large wooden double doors were the words “Combat Zone.”

The stranger raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, _"S_ _o, this is where all the cheering was coming from. What sick form of entertainment are the raiders cheering for now”_ , the stranger thought to herself.

The stranger opened the door and stepped into an empty open foyer. At the far end of the room was another smaller set of double doors from which the already loud cheering came. Across to the right of the main entrance was a staircase that, presumably, led to upper tiers of seating. Two hundred years of debris and building damage had, however, made the passage impassable. To the stranger’s left, in what must have been the old box office, was what could only have been described as a cage. Behind a locked door, and a thick set of iron bars, were two people with their hands bound behind their backs. Directly in front of the cage lay a sign marked “rule breakers.” These raiders clearly took what they were cheering about seriously.

Upon noticing her arrival, one of the bound prisoners raised their head and looked directly into the stranger’s eyes. The stranger could see the despair in the prisoner’s face. She could tell that what awaited her behind those doors would not be pleasant. But the stranger had no time to exchange despairing glances with raiders; her main interest was what lay behind those double doors.

The stranger strolled across the empty foyer and tentatively pushed the double doors open.

* * *

Upon entering the main auditorium, the stranger was met by a large open stage. Leading toward it were eows of tiered theatre seating that had, probably, for multiple reasons, been ripped out to serve other purposes. On both sides of a long staircase there were what looked like market stalls. Each one was manned by the same type of miserable lowlife that littered what remained the Commonwealth. As usual, this entertainment was a business as well.

At the end of the long descending staircase was a large open area littered with various chairs and tables. Many of these chairs were occupied by the cheering patrons, with their attention firmly fixated on what was occurring on the stage.

The stage was also what drew most of the stranger’s attention. Upon the stage was an enormous metal cage with several large spotlights illuminating the centre. In the rafters above were several automatic turrets that seemed to be permanently aimed at the stage floor. Within the cage were two individuals who were clearly involved in a fight. It was now that it all made sense; this was a cage fighting ring.

As the stranger descended the stairs towards the stage, a great cheer erupted from the numerous patrons. The stranger looked up at the stage to see one the fighters deliver a killer strike against their opponent. The fighter’s opponent staggered for a few seconds before tumbling backwards to the ground. It was then that the stranger managed a quick look at the victorious fighter.

The stranger could not see much from the other side of the cage, but she could easily make out she was a young woman with fiery red hair. In her right hand was a wooden baseball bat; peppered with dark red stains from what were clearly the remains of previous fighters. As her opponent tumbled to the ground, she strolled around the stage with her arms outstretched, soaking up the rapturous reception her victory received from the cheering patrons.

The stranger raised her eyebrows slightly. This fighter was clearly good at what she did.

“And Cait is the final winner!!!! And who’s this? Looks like we got some fresh meat in the ring today.” A loud booming voice brought the stranger’s attention back to the individuals around her.

The stranger looked towards the origins of the booming voice and found a large man in a tattered old suit staring down at her from a podium situated to the right of the cage. His haggard face and lack of nose gave him all the unmistakable characteristics of a ghoul; although his thick Boston accent gave him a strange persona. “Yeah, you. Get over here, lady!" the ghoul commanded from his podium.

The stranger walked slowly towards the podium, highly conscious of the many eyes ogling her. The stranger was aware that her body did tend to draw attention. But she had learned to ignore it when possible.

“The name’s Tommy. Welcome to my humble establishment." the ghoul said as the stranger approached the podium.

“So, I take it that this is some kind of fighting arena?” the stranger asked rhetorically.

“Ha! Well, aren’t you a regular Einstein." Tommy laughed.

The stranger looked around at the arena and let out a visible shrug. “This place is a dump.”

“Oh, this bozo thinks she’s too good for us!” Tommy shouted into the microphone protruding from his podium. Some of the numerous patrons let out loud boos at the ghoul’s remark.

The ghoul looked back at the stranger, “So, before you insult my establishment any further, why don’t we throw you in the ring and you can show us what you’re made of.”

“Wait, I didn’t sign up for a fight. I’m not staying.” the stranger frowned at his suggestion.

“Oh, it don’t work like that, missy. You can’t just walk in and look around. I got to get somethin’ in return. Either you go into the ring, or I can let all these guys have some fun with you.” Tommy gestured his hand to the raiders standing behind the stranger.

The stranger gritted her teeth and shrugged in defeat. Like everywhere in this wasteland, she was going to have to fight her way out. Normally, she would have gone for her pistol, but the automatic turrets didn’t leave her chances very high. “Fine. Who will I be fighting?”

“Cait, the little bird in the cage over there. She’s one of my best. And she won’t kill if I ask her nicely.” Tommy turned his head towards the fighter in the ring. “Ain’t that right, little bird?”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that!” the fighter called from behind the bars.

“Ah, don’t mind her. She’ll do as she’s told.” Tommy reassured the stranger as he turned back to her. “So, what do ya’ say? You gonna show us what ya made of?”

Given that she was essentially surrounded, the ghoul’s question didn’t leave much in the way of negotiation. “Fine. I’ll do it." the stranger shrugged.

“Excellent!” Tommy smiled. “There’s a trap door under the stage. Go down the stairs to my right and up the lift. And no guns or power armour. Just fists, knives, and bats, got it?"

“Got it.” the stranger said unenthusiastically.

Tommy seemed to acknowledge the stranger’s response but chose to ignore her. “We have new fighter ladies and gentlemen." he loudly announced to the waiting crowd. He then turned back to the redheaded fighter in the ring, “Go easy on her, alright. No flourishin’ finishes, capiche?”

“Yeah yeah! Quit stallin’ and get ‘um up here already!” the redheaded fighter called back from inside the cage.

 _"Charming."_ the stranger thought to herself.

* * *

The stranger descended the stairs to the right of the stage and soon found herself in a large open area with several doors leading to, what must have been, former dressing rooms. She spotted some of the other fighters, both male and female, look her over in a mixture of slight interest and primal lust. The stranger ignored their prying eyes and began to search for a place to store her gear before the fight. If anyone was going to steal her stuff, it would be one of these lowlifes.

“You can use the trunk there to put your gear.” a fighter standing between the two platforms leading to the stage floor called to the stranger, gesturing to a large chest to the stranger’s left.

“Thanks.” the stranger acknowledged.

The stranger opened the empty chest and began to remove her gear. She first removed her rucksack and unceremoniously slung it into the box. Once it was inside the box, she opened it and fished out a pair of gloves. The stranger placed the gloves under her arm and tightly fastened the buckles of her rucksack again, conscious that those around her were not at all trustworthy. After fastening her bag, the stranger slipped the gloves over her hands and clenched her fists to gage the feel of them. As most of her gear was prohibited in the ring, this pair of studded gloves might add some power to her punches. She then removed the pair of sunglasses she wore and slipped them into a deep pocket of her long, dark grey, overcoat. The same overcoat soon joined her rucksack as she roughly folded it up and threw it in the chest.

Now standing in just her vault suit, the stranger was now very conscious of the many eyes ogling her. She turned her head to the side and glanced behind her, examining the many fighters looking her up and down, possibly waiting for an opportunity to have their own go at her.

The stranger ignored their ogling and set about unfastening her most prized piece of gear. She began by unbuckling the gun holster strapped to her leg and then unbuckled the belt it was attached to. Before throwing it in with her other gear, she examined it for a few moments. She reminisced about how she acquired it at Fort Hagen after killing Kellogg; the man who had taken everything from her. She closed her eyes and clutched the firearm tightly in her hands, thinking of all the evil acts this pistol had committed; and how, when she found those who had wronged her, she would use one of their own weapons against them.

The stranger soon opened her eyes again and threw the pistol in with her other gear and closed the lid on the chest. As she turned, she could see the various fighters carefully eying the chest behind her. “Don’t even think about it!” the stranger commanded.

“Don’t worry, lady, I’ll keep an eye on ‘em.” the fighter standing between the stage lifts reassured.

The stranger nodded her acknowledgment and stepped up onto the stage lift to the right of the fighter standing between them. Once inside, the fighter closed a wire mesh gate behind her and placed her hand over a large panel of buttons.

“Ready?” the fighter asked.

The stranger nodded, clenching her gloved fists again in anticipation.

The push of a large button engaged a loud ringing alarm bell - signalling that the stage mechanics had been engaged - and the platform began to rise. As the platform reached the stage, the stranger took a deep breath, preparing herself for what came next.

* * *

The stranger’s entrance onto the stage was met by a wave of inaudible shouts and howls from the rapturous crowd. Despite the powerful spotlights initially restricting her vision, the stranger soon adjusted to the surroundings. It was then that she finally got a good look at her opponent.

Standing before her was a gruff and dirty, but relatively, young looking woman. She wore, what looked like, a tightly fitted leather corset and a pair of patched and torn beige trousers. Whether or not it was her intention, but it seemed that the fighter’s clothes flaunted every curve she had. However, it was her eyes and hair that drew all of the stranger’s attention. Acting like the crown of a flaming torch, the fighter’s head was covered in a mop of unkept fiery red hair. Similarly, her eyes were a piercing and fiery green. In her hands was a bloodied wooden baseball bat which she held in a strong defensive grip. She looked to be a formidable opponent.

However, as the stranger looked her over, she noticed several features that betrayed her opponent. Whilst her pose seemed to be formidable, the stranger noticed several pink pop marks dotted across her arms. Similarly, the whites around her piercing green eyes were vividly blood shot with red marks. The stranger could also see a pained look of exhaustion on her opponent’s face. It was almost as if her opponent didn’t actually want to be here. All these features and characteristics lead the stranger to believe that her opponent must be an addict of one drug or another. Perhaps she could use these observations to her advantage. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Tommy’s commanding voice at his microphone reverberated throughout the arena, “I present to you… Cait! And introducing the new blood!” Tommy’s announcement was met by wave a loud cheers and applause from the audience.

Tommy then turned back to the cage. “Listen up you two. I want blood in this fight. But no deaths. I just want to size up the new girl. On the count of three.” Tommy turned back to the crowd, “You know how this part goes! One! Two! Three! Fight!”

The redheaded fighter immediately ran forward and swung her baseball bat down at the stranger’s head. The stranger quickly swerved to her left and the baseball bat smashed into the old floorboards of the stage. The redhead whirled around and made another swing the fighter. The stranger was quick to stagger backwards to avoid the redhead’s second strike. In frustration the redhead screamed loudly and threw a third swing. This time, however, her strike caught the stranger off guard and struck the top of her right arm.

The stranger groaned as she quickly backed away, nursing her right arm with her hand. It was now that she evaluated her opponent’s fighting style. She looked across to her opponent and found that she was panting heavily. Clearly, while her attacks were powerful, they were sloppy and she used up a lot of her energy in doing them. Maybe the stranger could use superior agility to defeat her. Armed with this new knowledge, the stranger readjusted her position and prepared for the next stage.

The redhead, once again, ran towards the stranger and violently swung her baseball bat to strike her right side. However, before she could even react, the stranger had ducked and landed two powerful punches into her opponent’s stomach. The redhead let out a loud grunt of frustration and pain as she the threw another upwards diagonal swing to the stranger’s left side. This time, the stranger scurried forward and dispensed a sharp elbow jab to the redhead’s face. The stranger then swung round and delivered a powerful punch to the left side of the redhead’s jaw.

The stranger quickly backed away and examined the state of her opponent. The redhead was panting even heavier than before and had a look of utter frustration and exhaustion on her face. The redhead then looked directly into the stranger’s eyes and spat out a large mouthful of blood and sputum. “Now you’re startin’ to piss me off!” the redhead snarled as she, once again, lunged at the stranger.

The stranger was shocked at her opponent’s resolve and stubbornness. This redhead was clearly not going to give up. The stranger needed to end this fight as quickly. When the redhead inevitably attacked again, she was going to end this fight once and for all.

The redhead, for a third time, launched herself at the stranger with a powerful downward strike. This was the stranger’s chance. In an instant, she darted backwards and allowed the baseball bat to, once again, crash into the stage floor. With her opponent’s weapon firmly embedded in the stage floor, the stranger quickly kicked the bat out of her hands. With her weapon now rolling towards the cage wall, the redhead was now helpless.

This was the stranger’s chance. In an instant, she delivered a powerful kick to the redhead’s stomach, and a finishing right hook to the redhead’s face. With that final punch, the redhead’s legs buckled, and she tumbled backwards to the ground.

As the redhead hit the ground, the crowd erupted with an almost deafening wave a cheers and howls. “What’s this?” Tommy voiced boomed through the microphone, “The new blood has bested our fair Cait!”

Despite winning the fight, the stranger’s attention was not on the crowd, but her opponent. The stranger looked down and found the redhead sitting limply on the floor. She was panting heavily, clearly exhausted from attempting to deliver such heavy attacks. However, her exhaustion also left a look of complete and utter sadness and despair plastered across her face. She looked as if her defeat now made her life irrelevant.

“Quit standin’ there and finish it already.” the redhead said through heavy breaths. “The hell are you waitin’ for?”

The stranger could almost pity the redhead at her despair, but she needed to stay calm. “The rule was no deaths. I’m not gonna break that.” she said unapologetically.

“Well aren’t you a fuckin’ gentleman.” the redhead grumbled as she got to her feet again. She then slowly retrieved her baseball bat from the other side of the cage.

“All right you two, fights over. Come on out now.” Tommy said as he opened the cage door.

“Fine. Let’s go, hero.” the redhead sighed as she walked towards the exit of the cage, dragging her baseball bat along the floor as she exited.

The stranger exited the cage and was met with Tommy. “Heh, heh, heh. Nice work! Please, follow me.” Tommy said through a terrifyingly ghoulish smile. “You too, little bird.” he said, walking towards a small room to the left of the stage.

“I told you to quit fuckin’ callin’ me that!" the redhead grumbled from behind the stranger.

The stranger followed Tommy into a sparcely decorated room which was decked out as an office. Littered around the walls were various battered filing cabinets and boxes. In the centre of the room was a large desk which Tommy slowly sat behind. The redhead then slipped in behind the stranger and stood next to Tommy, her arms crossed in frustration.

“So, new blood, what do you think of that?” Tommy asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one who wanted a show.” the stranger answered curtly.

The redhead chuckled, “Yeah, Tommy. Did we do good for you? I know you get off on it.”

Tommy’s expression hardened as he turned his head to face the redhead. “You can’t say nothin’. I had expected more of a fight from you. You’re strung out and gettin’ sloppy. The new blood ran rings around you, darlin'.”

“Shut up, and don’t call me darlin’." the redhead growled as she clenched her fists.

Tommy turned back to the stranger and gave a coy smile. “She _hates_ losing. But you weren’t half bad out there. You wanna make this a regular thing?”

The stranger thought for a moment. Whilst she did win the fight, she was forced into it. “Not really. You did kind of force me into it.”

“Ha, so I did.” Tommy chuckled. “Well, either way, take this. It’s the winnings from the fight you just won. You earned it.”

“Thanks.” the stranger said as she took a small rusted tin from Tommy’s skeletal hand. She then opened the lid and found, what looked like, about one hundred bottlecaps.

“There’s plenty more where that came from if you change your mind.” Tommy said as the stranger closed the tin.

“Don’t hold your breath.” the stranger smiled coquettishly.

“Well, if you’re not planning on callin’ this place home, perhaps you could do me one last favour?” Tommy once again leaned in his chair, “My dear Cait here needs urrr, shall we say, a change of scenery. If you take her with you – go on whatever, urrrr, adventures and shenanigans you wanna do – I’d really appreciate it.”

The redhead’s face turned to a vicious scowl. “Now, wait a minute- “

Tommy was quick to interrupt the redhead before things turned nasty. “So, what do you say? Would you help an old man by taking care of his pet?”

“Damn it, Tommy!” the redhead shouted, her face was palpable with anger. “I’m not man’s pet!”

The stranger thought carefully about what the ghoul was proposing. Would this fiery redhead, who she just beat in a fight, be the best companion? It was then that she remembered the look on her face after she defeated her. It was of, not just frustration, but also pure despair. Maybe she did need a change of scenery. She certainly didn’t look happy here. “Why would you want her to go with me?” the stranger asked apprehensively, trying to remain neutral on the subject.

“Yeah, Tommy!” the redhead shouted in agreement, “Why the hell are you tryin’ to get of me?”

Tommy then turned back to the redhead, “Look, all that junk in your system has been making you carless. And I don’t wanna be the one doing colour commentary when you finally hit the floor.” Tommy’s tone was forceful and unapologetic, but the stranger could sense a slight hint of concern in his voice.

The redhead, however, did not take kindly to this. “Fuck you, Tommy! You know what? I’m done!” She then leaned forward and pointed an accusing finger at Tommy. “I give you a week before you start missin’ my sweet arse!” The redhead then stormed off. As she walked away, she turned her head towards the stranger and let off a low snarl, “I’ll see you outside.”

The stranger instinctively leaned away from the redhead’s snarl. She also scrunched her nose in mild repulsion. The redhead’s breath absolutely stank of booze.

Once the redhead had left the room, the stranger raised her eyebrows in moderate surprise. “Well, I guess my decision has been made for me.” Whilst she remained emotionless, she probably would have accepted Tommy’s offer anyway.

“Thanks, lady. You’re doing me a real solid here.” Tommy said happily. A ghoulish smile spread across his lips before his face before it hardened again. “But let me make one thing clear. Should any harm come to her – and I don’t care if you ain’t got ‘em – I’ll gut you from testicles to eyeballs. You hear me?”

Slightly offended, the stranger scoffed. “Is that a threat?”

“Oh, that ain’t no threat. That’s a promise.” Tommy said commandingly. “Now go to the bar and get yourself a drink before you head out.”

* * *

Cait loudly paced up and down her room, her mind awash with angry thoughts on the conversations that had just taken place. How could Tommy do this to her? She loses one fight and he just decides to throw her out? Cait clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration, wanting, so desperately, to find a way to dissipate her anger. It was then that she eyed the vial of psycho lying next the old mattress that she called a bed.

Cait knelt down and swiped the vial off the ground and leaned back against a wall; unceremoniously jabbing the needle into her arm. There was no hesitation in her actions, this was a quick fix to release the frustration built up inside her.

An almost instant high coursed into her system and Cait groaned loudly. Cait then turned around and began relentlessly hitting the wall with her fists, determined that she would punch the frustration out of her system. Cait grunted painfully as, with each hit, the pain and embarrassment of what had happened that day slowly ebbed from her system.

When she had no more strength left in her arms, Cait looked down at her clenched fists an found specks of blood oozing from her knuckles. Cait then looked up to see several cracks from where she continuously punched the wall. Cait gritted her teeth and gave one last strike before turning back to her bed. “Fuckin’ piece of shit!” Cait said to herself. She wasn’t entirely sure whether she was talking about the wall, or herself.

As Cait’s breath settled back down to a regular rhythm, Cait set about packing what little she had. Amongst the assorted items next to her bed was an old brown rucksack; its edges covered with stitches and other botched repair jobs. It lay on the ground, partially open, with many items, including bullets, sweets, caps, and vials strewn across the floor. Cait quickly swiped the items back into the bag and slung it onto her shoulders. She then looked around to find her shotgun lying in the same place she left it that morning. Not wanting to remember that moment of weakness, Cait quickly retrieved the firearm and threw it over her shoulder. After collecting her baseball bat from beside the doorway, Cait turned to have one last look at the place she had called home for the past three years. “Good riddance” Cait whispered as she exited the room for the last time.

* * *

When Cait re-entered the main arena, she looked around for her new companion and found her propped up against a post near one of the bars. Despite only just having fought her, Cait couldn’t remember what this stranger looked like. It, however, did not help that most of her face and body were covered by the dark sunglasses and grey overcoat she wore. With all this in mind, Cait had to admit that she looked pretty striking in her outfit.

When Cait approached, the stranger turned to face her. It was here that Cait got a better view of her new companion. Her new companion wore, what looked like, an old vault suit that was littered with scuffs and stains. Cait’s attention, however, was not the outfit itself, but how it fitted around her companion’s body. This new companion was clearly a curvy woman and the vault suit really showed that off.

“So, are you ready to go?” the stranger asked, shocking Cait back to the real world.

“Urrrrr, yeah, I suppose.” Cait huffed in response.

The stranger nodded, her face emotionless behind her sunglasses. “Look,” she said after taking a deep breath, “I know you’ve packed whatever stuff you have, but do you actually want to travel with me?”

Cait shrugged, “Can’t be any worse than here.”

The stranger gave an understanding smile. “Okay then. Well, if we’re going to travel together, I think we should make introductions. I have heard your name many times so far today, but I think it would be nice to meet you properly.”

Cait was taken aback by her companion’s manner. This woman had just beaten the shit out of her and now she wanted to get to know her? Until she figured out her game, she needed to play this cool. “Cait. And yours?”

“Eloise. But please- “

“What kind of name is that?” Cait interrupted.

Eloise shrugged at the interruption, “Well, for one thing, it’s my name. But please call me El. And it’s nice to meet you, Cait. Now, if you’re going to travel with me, I have one rule: I watch your back, so you watch mine. Understood?”

“Fine.” Cait said, not entirely happy at having to commit to new rules.

“Great!” El smiled. “Now let’s get out of here.”

* * *

The sight of daylight was like greeting a long-lost friend as El and Cait exited the Combat Zone. “Urrgghh, it feels good to get out of there.” El said taking a deep breath as they stepped into the street.

Cait remained silent. What was so good about the air outside? Everything was shit here.

“Ok, it’s getting a bit late. Let’s go and find a place to stay tonight.” El said as she adjusted her sunglasses.

“Got a place in mind?” Cait asked, conscious that she was now, technically, homeless.

“I know somewhere. Just follow me.” El said, beginning to walk towards the main street.

They had just made it onto the main street when they heard a gruff voice from behind. They turned their heads to find a drunk lone raider stagger out of the Combat Zone. _“Hey! You’re just gonna leave me like that? Come on babe, show me what you got under that tight little vault suit.”_

Cait gripped her baseball bat, getting ready to beat him to a pulp.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” El said coquettishly, “Let me give you a show.”

Before Cait knew what was going on, El pulled a huge revolver from a holster on her leg and fired a bullet directly into the raider’s head. The raider flew backwards and fell limply on the ground.

El let out a loud and heavy sigh through her nostril as she put the gun back in its holster. “C’mon, let’s go. Before anymore show up.”

As El strode off down the street, Cait stood firmly in place, her mouth slightly agape. _“What the fuck just happened?”_ Cait thought to herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that first chapter. 
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos if you can. It really helps. 
> 
> Regarding the future, I will try and write regularly. I have handwritten plans for, at least, the next 11 chapters. However, morphing those plans into readable prose will time.
> 
> Plus, managing work and a personal life in the middle of a pandemic may also slow things slightly.
> 
> But, anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all next time.


	2. The City Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait and El have their first proper experience with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> Thank you for the support so far in this story. It feels good to get positive comments so early on, and gives me a lot more confidence to keep this going. 
> 
> So, it turns out that, once you get the first chapter out of the way, future chapters come a little easier. As a result, I was able to get this written quite quickly in my opinion. 
> 
> So, with no further adieu, please accept this new chapter to enjoy during the the Easter weekend.

The dwindling sunlight, and the illuminating stadium spotlights, brought a light haze over the streets of Diamond City. At times like this, you could almost get used to the smell of mud, sewage, and body odour.

Cait followed El down the long causeway into the old stadium, looking slightly in awe of her surroundings. She had been to Diamond City before, but she had not had many opportunities to leave the Combat Zone. However, she couldn’t give any of this away. The last thing she wanted her companion to see was her gawping like an idiot.

When El had reached street level she immediately veered off to her left and began walking towards a young girl standing on a wooden box outside a house.

“Extra, extra! The new edition of Publick Occurrences! Read all about it!” the girl exclaimed from her podium.

“Hey Nat,” El greeted, “How’s business today?”

The girl turned her head towards El’s voice and smiled gleefully. “Blue. Where have you been? It’s been ages. New edition of Publick Occurrences?” The little girl held out a folded series of crumpled papers.

“Sure.” El said taking the papers and placing them in her coat pocket. She then flicked a bottlecap into the girl’s hand. “Is your sister about?”

“Yeah, she’s just typing up a new story. I’ll go get her.” The girl hopped off her podium and disappeared behind a closed door. After a few minutes, the door opened and a tall dark-haired woman in a red leather coat and hat exited the building. She was followed closely by the little girl who immediately reclaimed her place on the podium.

“Blue! It’s been too long!” the dark-haired woman exclaimed as she greeted and embraced El. El then gestured towards Cait, “Cait, meet Piper and Nat. Guys, this is Cait. She’s with me.”

“Good to know you, Cait.” Piper said, giving Cait a friendly nod.

Cait raised the corners of her lips ever so slightly in acknowledgment but remained silent. She was never good with strangers.

Piper then turned back to face El, “Thought you would have turned into a ghoul in the Glowing Sea?”

El laughed at the woman’s sarcastic humour. “Oh, you can’t get rid of me _that_ easily.”

The woman’s face quickly turned serious, “But did you get what you wanted?”

“I did.” El said. “I got the plans from the Institute scientist and the teleporter is under construction. It’s just taking so long.”

Piper’s eyes widened in amazement. “Oh, I’ve got so many more stories to write about you.” She mischievously rubbed her gloved hands together.

As Piper and El chattered about stuff she didn’t care about, Cait stood still, trying not to fidget too much. _“What the fuck were they talking about? Ghouls? The Glowing Sea? Teleporter? The Institute? What the fuck does this woman do? And why the fuck does she know these people?”_ Cait thought to herself.

Cait’s attention was suddenly drawn to Nat holding one of her papers in front of her. “Wanna get one of the new papers, ma’am?” Nat asked, holding the paper up to Cait’s chest.

“No, fuck off, Brat! I don’t want your fuckin’ toilet paper.” Cait huffed indignantly.

“Cait!” El shouted through gritted teeth, immediately turning to face her, “don’t be so rude!”

Cait simply shrugged indifferently at El’s reprimand and began meandering towards the main Diamond City plaza.

El kept her eyes on Cait for a good while until she was out of earshot. She then turned back to Piper and Nat to apologise. “I’m sorry guys,” she said sincerely. “Cait is a bit gruff. It’s a bit of a long story-”

Piper simply held up her hands to stop El. “It’s okay, Blue. We work in journalism. Everyone hates us in one way or another."

“Thanks,” El smiled, happy that she had not just lost two friends. “Look guys, I just need to know. Is Valentine in? Apparently, he had a message for me.”

“Yeah, he’s about.” Piper replied.

“Awesome.” El said, turning her head back to spot Cait. “Look, I’ve got to go. But we’ll catch up again some other time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Piper said as El began to walk towards to plaza.

“Oh, I know you will.” Ell called back.

* * *

El found Cait perched on a bar stool at the Takahashi noodle bar in the middle of the Diamond City market. Her back was turned to her. She was hunched over the bar, staring intently at nothing.

El approached Cait and placed a hand on the bar, her face emotionless to convey her mood. “That was really rude, Cait. Nat didn’t mean you any harm.”

Cait didn’t turn her head, although, El did notice her eyes glance momentarily over to her. Cait clearly heard what El had said, but stubbornly chose to ignore it.

El, however, wasn’t going to let this go. “ _Well_ , Cait? Anything to say?” Ell asked attentively, not willing to stop until she got a reply.

This time Cait turned her head, a menacing scowl on her face. “What do you want me to say, sorry? You’re not my fuckin’ mother.”

“Well, someone has to be.” El chastised under her breath as she sat down on the stool next to Cait. El was keenly aware of the devilish stare she was receiving from Cait. What El had said clearly touched a nerve. She, however, just ignored it and removed her sunglasses and gloves.

Before long, a large robot wearing a chef’s hat, peppered with rust marks, mechanically pottered over to the two ladies’ position. As Cait had arrived at the bar first, it swivelled his balboas head to face her. “Nan-ni shimasho-ka?” it asked in its monotone robotic voice.

“A beer.” Cait answered curtly, immediately not taking kindly to the robot.

The robot remained still. “Nan-ni shimasho-ka?” it asked again.

“A beer! I want a beer!” Cait answered back louder.

The robot, yet again, remained still. “Nan-ni shimasho-ka?”

Cait was becoming more and more aggravated. “Urrgh, stupid robot!” she huffed in frustration.

“Yeah, two please.” El cut in, saving the situation, and, most likely, both the robot and the peace of Diamond City.

The robot withdrew to a large cooking pot behind the counter and the two women were left in silence; Cait bowing her head slightly to hide her embarrassment. Cait, however, couldn’t help but glance over at El from the corner of eye. What was this woman’s game?

“What do I owe you then?” Cait eventually asked as two bowls of hot steaming noodles were placed in front of them.

El simply waved her hand and picked up her chopsticks. “Don’t worry about it.”

Cait looked at El suspiciously. If life had taught her anything, it was that nothing was free in the Commonwealth. “C’mon, don’t bullshit me. How much you want?” Cait pressed harder.

“Cait, it’s just some noodles.” El said, raising her hand. “Just eat.”

Cait sheepishly did as she was told and tucked into her free noodles. Her suspicion had not died down, however, and she now had a new problem; she couldn’t work out the chopsticks.

El glanced over and saw Cait’s ham-fisted attempts at operating chopsticks and laughed lightly through her nostrils. “Here, look, like this.” El then showed Cait the correct way of holding chopsticks and demonstrated the technique on her bowl of noodles.

“Thanks.” Cait muttered as she successfully began to eat her noodles. She was grateful but couldn’t possibly show it.

The noodles were, however, delicious. After years of, literally, having to fight for what the Combat Zone considered food, it was good to finally have a freshly cooked meal. With every mouthful, Cait closed her eyes and unconscientiously smiled in contention.

Before long the two bowls of noodles were empty and El leaned back on her stool, stretching. She then dismounted and retrieved her gloves and sunglasses. “C’mon, we need to be somewhere.” El said, tapping Cait on the shoulder.

Cait reluctantly dismounted and slung her rucksack and shotgun over her shoulders. “Where we goin’ now?” she asked, sounding almost whingy as she said it.

El simply collected Cait’s baseball bat and handed it to her. “See an old friend. And to check a couple of things.”

El then strode off down towards the back alleys of Diamond City with Cait shuffling along close behind.

* * *

El and Cait’s meandering through the thoroughfares of Diamond City eventually brought them to doorway of a hardly prepossessing property leading off an alleyway behind the market. The only feature that set it apart from its neighbours was a bright neon sign jutting out into the street. Emblazoned on the sign were the words ‘Valentine Detective Agency.’

“This place looks like a junkie den.” Cait said as they descended the back alley towards the door.

“Just like every other building in this place then, I suppose.” El replied as she opened the door.

Cait walked through the doorway into a dark and dusty room with a single solitary light to illuminate her surroundings. The walls were piled high with rusty filing cabinets and old boxes of paper. The chamber's contents brought a strong musky smell to the surroundings and made the atmosphere of the room very heavy.

Cait looked at the two individuals who were inside the property when they entered. The first was a young, dark haired, woman wearing a black sleeveless leather jacket over a pink knee-length dress. She glanced up at Cait but did not maintain eye contact for long. She seemed to be quite shy and rather intimidated by the fearsome redhead who just entered.

The other individual was a different story to Cait. This other individual looked like a man, but just _wasn’t_. His skin was a lifeless grey hew and conveyed absolutely no emotion. His eyes, on the other hand, were a bright piercing yellow and seemed to penetrate everything they laid sight upon. He wore an old and tattered grey overcoat over a raggedy shirt and tie, and a similarly frayed fedora hat on his head. Cait interpreted that he must be a synth.

Cait had heard stories of synths, but they were never good. They were normally stories of people being snatched away in the night and being replaced by a synthetic copy of themselves. Stories of how anyone you knew could be synth secretly working for the Institute. Was this guy an Institute stooge? Was this El’s game all along? What if El had brought Cait here to be dragged away to the Institute? Although, what would the Institute want with a lowlife like Cait anyway?

Cait looked around for El and found her kneeling on the floor vigorously stroking the fur of a large dog who looked overjoyed to see her. “Hey boy,” El gleefully greeted the dog, “you been a good boy for Nick and Ellie?” The dog sniffled, clearly not understanding what El had said, and began licking El’s cheek. El laughed and immediately stood up, keeping on hand the dog’s head to ruffle his ears.

“He’s been good as gold, ma’am.” The young dark-haired girl said.

Cait had never been fond of dogs. They were either irradiated mutants or the hungry enforcers of raider scum. Why should this one be any different?

El then greeted the synth. “Nick! How have you been? Haven’t got yourself trapped in anymore vaults?” El asked humorously.

“Oh, is this how you treat your friends?” the synth chuckled, pulling what Cait interpreted as his attempt at a smirk.

“Yeah wouldn’t have me any other way.” El joked, clapping a hand on shoulder. “I got word that Preston has a message for me.”

The synth crossed his arms in thought. “Yeah. Said something about cashing in a favour. You can use the radio behind if you wanna chat.” He gestured his thumb to an old ham radio on a desk behind him.

“Thanks Nick. Let’s see what he wants.” El said as she sat down and tuned into the radio.

It was at this point that Cait decided that she would stay out of all this and stand silently by the door. “ _How many friends did this woman have?”_ Cait thought to herself. First it was some hack selling toilet paper; now it was a synth and a mutt. Who else was she friends with?

 _“I assume you’re travelling with El then. The name’s Nick Valentine.”_ Cait heard a gruff voice coming from in front of her. She looked up and, to her shock, found the synth standing in front of her with his hand extended.

Cait just stood there gormlessly, not knowing what to do. She just couldn’t take her eyes off the thing standing in front of her. His bright yellow eyes seemed to bore directly into her soul. His face, similarly, had an unnatural lifelessness to it that deeply unnerved Cait. What shocked Cait most, however, was his outstretched hand. Unlike his face, his hand had no skin covering it; leaving just exposed robotics. This lack of skin gave the hand an almost claw like look to it. If Cait had to choose, she would rather shake hands with a feral ghoul than this synth. At least a ghoul was more lifelike. 

Valentine retracted his hand, clearly understanding Cait’s apprehension. “Not the handshaker type then.” Valentine said perceptively.

“Cait.” Cait blurted out, not wanting to be considered a mute.

“Huh. Well, nice to meet you, Cait.” Valentine nodded before turning back towards where El was sitting.

Cait similarly turned to watch and listen to what El was doing. El was sitting hunched over Valentine’s desk, using one hand to tune the radio and the other to hold its microphone.

“Preston. Are you receiving me?” El asked into the microphone.

After a few moments of blank static, a faint voice came through on the radio. _“General! It’s good to hear your voice.”_

“Likewise.” El responded, not wanting to waste time. “One of the minutemen patrols I passed while on the road said something about a message.”

 _“Yes General,”_ the voice answered, _“We’ve finally reached the strength needed to launch an attack on the Castle. We could really use your help in retaking it.”_

El thought for a moment before replying. “So, I assume this is you cashing in the favour?” she enquired.

 _“Correct. It was agreed that the Minutemen would help you build your teleporter in return for a favour.”_ The voice added.

El stroked her chin for several seconds, clearly thinking about this proposition. “Alright. I’ll do it. I’ll meet near the Castle tomorrow morning, if that suits. Have you had any word on the teleporter’s progress lately?”

 _“Thank you, General.”_ The voice said thankfully. _“We’re camped in an abandoned diner near the Castle entrance. We’ll meet you there. I had word from Sanctuary a couple of days ago. Sturges and our workmen have successfully gathered the required materials. It may, however, take quite some time to construct and operate effectively, I’m afraid.”_

El sighed, seeming somewhat disheartened by this news. “Alright. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 _“Look forward to seeing you, general. Preston out.”_ The voice concluded before turning once again to static.

El got up from the table and turned to Valentine, her face betraying a look of slight dismay. “Well Nick, looks like I’m off to the Castle tomorrow.”

Valentine’s face matched the look on El’s. “The Castle, really? Last I heard, things got a bit ‘crabby’ there.”

“I heard that too.” El said, scrunching her mouth slightly in thought. “But I do owe Preston a favour.” She sighed in acquiescence.

El then opened her rucksack and pulled out, what looked like, a small plastic square with a small green screen. The square was covered with several dials which El turned to adjust various items on the screen. Before long, El placed the square back in her bag and slung it over her shoulders.

“Alright. Coordinates to the Castle are on my Pip-Pad. At least that way, I can’t get lost. Look Nick, I’d love to stay longer, but I need to get some stuff together.”

Valentine simply held his hands up in understanding. “Hey. Don’t worry about it. You got places to be.”

El, once again, clapped her hand on Valentine’s shoulder. “We’ll have a proper catch up soon.”

“Sure.” Valentine smirked. “Stay safe out there. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“Ha,” El laughed, “will do.”

El then collected her sunglasses and gloves and began to make her way to the door.

“Take care out there, ma’am.” Ellie called as El passed her.

El nodded. “See you around, Ellie. C’mon boy.” El patted her leg and Dogmeat attentively followed his master. 

When El reached the door, she found Cait standing quietly against the wall, her arms crossed in a defensive posture. She was desperately trying to seem oblivious to the situation, but El could tell there was something on her mind. Even in the short time she had known her, El had noticed that Cait tended to fidget when she had something on her mind. El chose to ignore Cait’s expression; if Cait wanted to say something, she could tell her herself.

“Come on,” El said to Cait, putting on her gloves and sunglasses, “Let’s go.”

* * *

As they both exited Valentine’s agency, and entered street level, Cait felt that she would explode with questions. Why did El know so many people? First, she meets a hack with a bratty sister, then a fucking synth with some stupid girl shacking up with him, then she ends up talking to some random Minutemen guy over a radio. To add insult to injury, El just agrees to help this guy out because of what, a favour? What favours was he giving her? And, anyway, what the fuck did favours matter in the Commonwealth?

“How do you know all those people then?” Cait suddenly blurted out, unable to control herself any longer.

El turned back to look at Cait. Judging by her fidgeting, El had half-expected these questions were coming. “They helped me out of a bad situation when I first came here.” She said cryptically. “They agreed to help me out in return for a favour. So, we’re going to the Castle to repay that favour.”

El’s response left Cait with even more questions than answers. Her main concern, however, was that El was currently looking her up and down. Cait was used to people staring at her, but she had simply learned to accept it. “I see the way you’re lookin’ at me, not sayin’ I don’t like it, just thought I’d clear the air.” Cait said, extenuating her hips and chest slightly.

El looked almost shocked at Cait’s suggestion. El had never met someone who would think in that way, but she just about managed to control herself. She had chastised Cait once already today, and it had not been well received. Instead, El simply rolled her eyes, “Cait, what I was going to say is that, what you’re wearing is not going to be suitable for where we’re going.”

Cait looked down at her tightly fitting corset and trousers in complete bemusement. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?" Cait asked, feeling somewhat insulted.

El gritted her teeth slightly. She had to admit at Cait did look impressive in her outfit, but it certainly was not practical. “What I’m saying, Cait, is that, where we’re going tomorrow, that is not going to protect you. Come on, I’m getting you some new clothes and gear.” El commanded, adjusting her rucksack slightly as she began to walk back to the market.

“But-,” Cait began, hopelessly attempting to challenge El’s decision.

El just held a gloved hand up, quashing any hint of protest. “No questions.” she said, marching down the street with Dogmeat following close behind.

* * *

Against Cait’s protests, both women now found themselves in _Fallon’s Basement_ picking out clothes. Dogmeat sat obediently by the door while El and Cait entred the interior of the store. Cait felt like she had landed on an alien planet. Why did El suddenly care about what Cait wore?

Eventually, El picked out a selection of different items of clothing: a shirt, a pair of trousers, and what looked like a set of underwear. El then turned to Cait and held the pile of clothes in front of her. “Try them on.” El ordered.

Cait looked at the pile of clothes and glowered. “What? No, I’m not tryin’ on stuff for you.”

El, however, was not going to be intimidated, “Cait, we’re not leaving until you try them on.”

El and Cait just stared at each other, both individuals anxious of who would give up first. Eventually, however, Cait scowled and snatched the clothes from El’s hands. “Fine! I’ll do your fuckin’ pimp show.” 

After being gone for a worryingly long amount of time, Cait finally appeared in the clothes that El had handed to her. She was wearing a maroon coloured buttoned up shirt overlapped with both vertical and horizontal white pinstripes. Below the shirt, Cait wore a pair of dark blue jeans which, in another world, would have made her look like some kind of cowgirl. El was quite impressed by what she saw. For once, Cait actually looked relatively personable, and the maroon shirt really brought out the colour of her hair and eyes.

El walked forward so she was standing face to face with Cait. Cait’s face was unmoving, but she was deeply suspicious of what El would do next. El then took the ends of Cait’s sleeves and rolled them to just above her elbows and undid the shirt’s top button. She then stood back and raised her eyebrows in expectation. “Well, Cait, what do you think?” El asked expectantly.

Cait just stood there, slouching in silence, her face looking like that of a grumpy child being dragged around by their mother.

El exhaled heavily through her nostrils. “Walk around. How do they feel when you move?”

Cait began to slowly walk around the open area of the store, her shoulders slumping in complete uninterest. Deep down, however, Cait had to admit that the clothes did feel comfortable. It was nice to wear something that wasn’t normally fitted so tightly around her waist that she almost couldn’t breathe properly. But she wasn’t going to give El the satisfaction of this. Cait then started feeling an uncomfortable chafing sensation on her chest and shoulders and began slipping her hand into the shirt to relieve the feeling.

“What’s wrong, Cait?” El asked.

“This is why I don’t wear bras. They’re uncomfortable and make me sore.” Cait replied, trying to adjust the bra from under her shirt.

El nodded, completely understanding Cait’s predicament. As a curvy woman herself, El knew exactly what Cait was on about. “I know what you mean, Cait.” Whilst Cait was skinnier than her, she was also, definitely, curvy and would suffer without adequate support. “But you can’t really go commando in those clothes. You need some support.” 

Cait looked down at the clothes she wore and sighed heavily. She did like how the bra pushed her boobs up. It also made her feel taller than she was. And, anyway, it wasn’t like her corset was any more comfortable than this. Eventually, Cait submitted to El’s nagging and nodded in acceptance.

El smiled appreciatively, “Awesome! Alright, go get changed.”

Cait sheepishly disappeared behind the store’s dividers and quietly got changed back into her corset. Before long, she reappeared holding the new clothes roughly folded in her hands.

“So, do you like them? I have to say, they do suit you.” El asked, taking the clothes from Cait.

Cait shrugged and bowed her head, trying to hide the faint hint of a blush. “I suppose.” She was keenly aware that she had nowhere near enough caps to pay for them.

“Alright then,” El said, “You wait by the door and I’ll buy these.”

Cait looked as if El had just slapped her. El was going to buy the clothes for her. Why would she do that? Cait barely knew her. First it was a bowl of noodles, now it was a whole new outfit.

Cait must have been deep in thought for a long while because she soon found El standing in front of her holding the pile of clothes. El handed the clothes to Cait, “Come on, pack these away. We’re not finished yet.”

Cait quickly threw the folded clothes in her rucksack and slung it back onto her shoulders. She then followed El out of the store with Dogmeat. _“Where else are we going?”_ Cait thought to herself as they reached street level again.

* * *

A short walk across Diamond City market brought El and Cait to _Commonwealth Weaponry,_ and the owner gave El an oddly familiar greeting. “Ah, if it isn’t the lady in the vault suit. What can I do you for, weapons, ammo, modifications?”

“Hey Arturo, no weapons today, body armour and a sleeping bag, if you have it.” El answered, taking her gloves off and placing them in her jacket pocket.

“I got a few pieces. Pre-war quality. Very strong.” Arturo propositioned.

El raised her eyebrows, “Pre-war, huh? Can I take a look?”

“Sure thing.” Arturo said as he turned to the series of shelves behind him. He soon turned back holding a piece of green chest body armour and two similarly coloured shoulder pads. El was in no doubt that it was pre-war, given that the chest piece was emblazoned with a large white star. He also brought out a similarly coloured sleeping bag, securely rolled up with a thin leather belt. 

El picked up the armour pieces and examined them carefully. They looked pretty good quality and still had some reinforcement to it. This would do nicely. El turned to Cait and held the chest piece in front of her.

Cait quickly eyed the armour and looked up at El, immediately understanding what El was meaning. “No!” Cait said, vigorously shaking her head.

Once again, El wasn’t going to be intimidated by Cait’s protests. “Cait, shut up and try it on.”

Cait huffed indignantly at El and took off her rucksack. El then began attempting to fit the chest piece.

“Get the fuck off me!” Cait shouted, pushing El away and taking a step back.

El shrugged in frustration, trying to remain calm. “Cait, I need to see if it fits right. Just stay still. I won’t touch anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Cait scrunched her face in a deep scowl at El’s prompting but relaxed her shoulders in submission. El then slipped the chest piece over Cait’s shoulders and began adjusting the straps to fit it comfortably to Cait’s body. El then took Cait’s arms and strapped the respective pads to them. Once fitted, El stepped away and examined Cait; the pieces seemed to fit well enough. They didn’t fit perfectly to Cait’s body, but that was to be expected from mass produced armour pieces.

“How do they feel, Cait?” El asked expectantly.

Cait frowned at El, “I feel like a fuckin’ fridge!” Cait swung her arms backwards and forwards, “How am I supposed to move in this stuff?” she asked, exacerbated.

“It’s not about trying to move fast. It’s about protection. What you normally wear just isn’t enough.” El attempted to reassure Cait.

Cait stood in silence for a few moments, contemplating how this was going to go. Eventually, however, Cait knew that she couldn’t win against El. “Fine.” she huffed.

“Great,” El smiled happily, “take them off and I’ll sort this out.”

“W-what do you mean?” Cait asked, dumbfounded.

“Take the armour off and I’ll pay for them.” El answered, holding her hand out to take the removed pieces.

Cait removed the armour pieces and handed them back to El, feeling both anger and embarrassment at this entire situation. Cait had been forced to try on clothes that she didn’t think she wanted, and her companion was just going to pay for them. El was certainly going to want something in return, but what?

Cait watched El haggle with Arturo over the price until she got the pieces for a pricey sixty caps. Sixty caps was way more than Cait had on her. How was she going to pay El back when she inevitably asked? What was she going to do? This was way more than a bowl of noodles. 

_“Here.”_ El’s voice shocked Cait back to reality. El was in front of Cait holding the armour pieces out to her.

“Thanks.” Cait mumbled, sheepishly taking the armour out of El’s hands.

El then looked up at the sky and frowned. “It’s getting late, and we have a long journey tomorrow. I think we better settle down for the night.”

“Where are we gonna sleep then?” Cait asked, anxious that, for the first time in three years, she had nowhere to sleep.

El smirked, “I have a place. Follow me, it’s not far at all.”

* * *

The quick turn of a key unhooked a heavy padlock attached to a red metal door, held shut by a large bolt lock. Once removed, and the bolt retracted, El switched to another key which slipped easily into the door’s main lock. El then turned the handle and pushed the door open. “Come on in.” she said to Cait as she entered the premises.

Cait walked into a dark room and was immediately shocked by the temperature. The place was freezing. Cait let out a loud shiver as she entered the room.

The clunk of a heavy switch behind her ignited several ceiling lights and the room was soon illuminated in light. It was now that Cait could examine her surroundings. Cait found herself in a small, scarcely decorated open area with several heavy wires hooked along the interior walls. There was little furniture in this area save for a large cooking stove and rather cluttered workbench. Wedged in a corner, between the workbench and the stove, was a wash basin with several old clinical bottles and dishes littered around its edges. Along the entrance’s interior wall was wooden staircase that lead up the second level. Cait could just see the top of a bedframe and another staircase leading up to a ladder. Cait interpolated, from what she saw, that El did not live her that often. 

El walked past her and removed her gloves and sunglasses. “Go on through to the living area and take a load off, it’s just around the corner. _Mi casa es tu casa_.” She said casually.

Cait frowned in confusion at what El had just said. “What?”

“Never mind.” El sighed, shaking her head as she turned back to look at Cait.

Cait walked through into the living area and found a far different setup than earlier. Dominating the area were several sizable items of furniture, including a large red couch and two rather ornate wingback chairs. In the middle of this array of furniture was an old wooden coffee table that was peppered with numerous scuffs and stains. In the corner of the room was a small wood burner fireplace which had a long stovepipe chimney leading up through the roof. Next to the wood burner was a pile of wooden planks, branches, and other miscellaneous items that could easily be burned. The walls were similarly as bare as the kitchen area, save for two large chests of drawers, a tall wardrobe, and a similarly tall wood and glass cabinet. The glass had clearly been broken and removed, but that didn’t detract from their aesthetic. Finally, as Cait’s eyes scanned the room, she spotted a ham radio and another peculiar device sitting on a small coffee table next to the large red sofa. Next to the device was a pile of holotapes which, upon closer inspection, looked to be music tapes. Cait concluded that it must be a holotape player. The place looked, generally, very homely in Cait’s opinion. It was certainly better than anything she had ever known.

Cait removed her baggage and slumped down on the sofa, completely exhausted from the day’s activates. A few moments later, Dogmeat plodded through the living area and curled himself up in a small carpeted alcove in a corner of the room. Soon afterwards, El strolled through, removed her coat and belt, and hung them up on one of a series of coat hooks dotted along the wall. She then walked to the wood burner and began throwing in various pieces of wood and paper. Once fully stoked, El retrieved a zippo lighter from on top of the burner and set it alight.

With the fire lit, El walked back towards the kitchen area and set about sorting the assortment of pots and pans that littered her stove. Cait could see El open and empty two cans into a saucepan and set to the moderate heat on one of the hobs. El then disappeared upstairs, out of Cait’s sight.

Cait set about unlacing her boots. After walking and fighting in them all day, her feet was really starting to ache. Once her boots were on the floor, she propped her feet up on the couch and carefully nursed them with her hands. Cait closed her eyes and hummed contently as she gently massaged the aches away.

Cait was suddenly brought back to the real world by the sound of approaching footsteps. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see El approaching with two bottles and a deep metal dish in her hands. She placed the dish down in font of Dogmeat, who began to eagerly slurp up its contents, and then turned back to the couch. El’s appearance had changed slightly. Her boots were off - making her an inch or two shorter than before – and the top half of her vault suit was tied up around her waist, leaving a light grey vest underneath. Cait couldn’t help but notice that, even without the vault suit, El was very curvy.

“Drink?” El asked Cait, holding out a bottle of rum to her.

Cait sat up and examined the bottle in El’s hand, “Got any whiskey?”

El shook her head, “No whiskey, I’m afraid. I like whiskey, whiskey doesn’t like me.”

Cait took the rum, unscrewed the top and took a large gulp straight from the bottle. Cait closed her eyes as the sweet liquid slipped down her throat and she sighed contently. It felt great to finally drink something after such a long day. 

El sat herself on one of the wingback chairs opposite the couch and popped open a bottle of Nuka Cola with a bottle opener that was sitting on the coffee table. Similarly, she sat back in the chair and took a deep gulp from her bottle.

“You’re not drinkin’?’ Cait asked between gulps.

El shook her head. “Not tonight. Don’t really feel like it.”

As Cait sat back and drink from her rum bottle, she suddenly realised that this was the first time she had been able to get a proper look at her new companion. Despite seeing El without her sunglasses on multiple occasions throughout the day, Cait had always been thinking about something else. Cait, therefore, began to look El over, trying not to seem obvious in doing it.

Cait guessed that El must have been in her early thirties. She certainly looked young, but a few years older than Cait. She had thick and wavy brown hair which fell to just above her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep and piercing hazel colour and they seemed to glint slightly if turned to face a certain light. They were quite mesmerising in Cait’s opinion, especially if they glinted in the light. El’s smile also seemed to draw Cait in. El processed a set of full and unchapped lips which, when parted, revealed a set of perfect and almost luminous teeth. Despite being a cage fighter, and not having the best diet, Cait’s teeth were not that bad. She, however, could not understand how someone from the Commonwealth could have teeth as perfect as El’s. Cait’s attention was also drawn to two scars that marked El’s face. The first, and oldest looking scar, was a narrow gash that ran up the right side of her face, only stopping around the area of her eye socket. The other looked more recent and it consisted of two parts. The first part ran up from the left side of El’s lips, while the second part ran up the top of her left eyebrow.

For all of El’s facial features, however, Cait’s attention was primarily drawn to El’s body. The area of El’s body that pulled most of Cait’s attention was her chest. Cait was more than aware that El was curvy, but her chest was on another level. While her own breasts were also big, and they did sometimes get in the way when she fought, Cait wondered acutely how El managed. Furthermore, El tended to wear her vault suit slightly unzipped, which exposed a deep cleavage which seemed to draw all surrounding attention. As Cait looked, she could also make out that El’s nipples were somewhat ostentatiously poking through the rather tightly fitting vest that she wore. At sight of this, Cait covertly bit her bottom lip.

In order to distract herself from ogling El too much, Cait decided she needed to make conversation. “So, what was all that stuff about, today?” Cait asked nonchalantly, asking more to strike up conversation than genuine interest.

El considered Cait’s question for a moment, or two, and adjusted herself in her chair. “Those people you met today all helped me out in some way when I first came here. Piper and Valentine all helped me find my footing.”

“What about that guy on the radio? What did he do for you?” Cait asked bluntly.

“He was actually one of the first people I met when I came here. He’s a commander in the Minutemen. I helped him out, he helped me out, and so on.” El cupped the right side of her head in her hand. “Eventually, he agreed that some of his men would help me build a teleporter in return for a favour. As you heard earlier, that favour is helping the Minutemen retake the Castle.”

“What’s a teleporter? Cait bemusedly asked. El might well have been speaking in code for all she knew.

El thought for a few minutes, wondering how she was going to phrase this. “A teleporter is a machine that can transport you from one place to another. Let’s just leave it at that.”

El’s answers only seemed to bring more questions. “What do you need it for?” she asked, more curious this time.

El closed her eyes and sighed. “Cait, I’d love to tell you why, but we’ll be here forever.”

Cait bowed her head slightly and took another gulp of her rum. 

El soon got up from her chair and started back towards the kitchen; placing her Nuka Cola down the coffee table and unintentionally giving Cait an unimpeded view of her cleavage. Cait looked away and took a long swig of her rum, trying not to seem like she was, effectively, staring directly at El’s boobs. However, as El walked towards the kitchen, Cait turned her head back again to catch a glimpse of her from behind.

As she walked, El’s hourglass figure noticeably extenuated her arse. Especially in her tightly fitting vault suit, El pocessed an almost perfectly cemeterial behind which swayed gently from side to side as she walked. Her cemeterial behind then lead seamlessly into two slim, but visibly muscly legs that seemed to glide gracefully across the floor. This sheer myriad of features lead Cait to one conclusion: El was an incredibly attractive woman. Now she understood why El appeared to find it so easy to haggle with store venders. 

El returned to the living area holding two small bowls in her hands and another metal dish in her hands. When she reached Cait she handed one of the bowls to her. Cait looked inside and saw that it was a portion of Pork ‘n Beans. Remembering the generous helping of noodles that she’d had earlier that day, Cait wasn’t feeling particularly hungry.

“I’m not hungry,” Cait said brusquely, “I ate all those noodles.”

El remained still, “I know. But you’ve downed a good third of that bottle since we got in. If you don’t eat anything, it will go straight to your head. We have a long journey ahead of us and I don’t want you groggy in the morning. So, eat up.” El commanded.

Cait wasn’t happy at being told what to do, but she took the bowl from El’s hand and the spoon that she also gave her. After placing the metal dish in front of Dogmeat, El then returned to her chair and both tucked into their meal.

They ate in silence, both too preoccupied with the task at hand. Cait actually underestimated how hungry she was because her meal disappeared a lot quicker than she had anticipated. Once finished, Cait placed the bowl on the table and took one last swig of rum. She then screwed the cap back on the bottle and placed it next to the bowl. Subconsciously, she appeared to be following El’s advice. 

El’s bowl soon joined Cait’s and she retrieved her Nuka Cola to resume drinking.

As silence descended once again on the living area, Cait felt that she _had_ to say something. Questions and feelings had been building up inside her all day. If she didn’t say something, she felt she would explode.

“Why did you buy me that stuff today?” Cait asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“We're going to a dangerous place. You need some protection.” El answered curtly.

Cait, however, was not satisfied with that answer. “I get that bit. But, _Why?_ It’s just that-,” Cait growled at herself and took a deep breath before continuing. “Look, after Tommy stuck me with you, I was expectin’ to hate your guts. Not only cause you just beat the shit out of me, but because I thought you’d be orderin’ me around like hired help. Now so far, you’ve been treatin’ me like a fiend, feedin’ me, buyin’ me stuff, showin’ me your place. Hell, you’ve been damn near nice to me.”

El noticed the slight hint of a smile cross Cait’s lips as she spoke. It was small, but it gave away a lot about Cait’s inner personality.

“Now I don’t want to sound ungrateful,” Cait continued, “but your kindness is startin’ to make me wonder. If there’s anythin’ I learned the Combat Zone, it was that nobody does things for other people without expectin’ something in return.”

El understood what Cait was getting at immediately. “You don’t owe me anything, Cait.” She said reassuringly.

“But why?” Cait asked, shocked. In all her life she had never met someone like this.

“Maybe I just appreciate your company.” El answered, feeling slightly frustrated at Cait’s prying. She, however, soon calmed herself and began again. “The things I bought you today were paid with the winnings from our fight. You earned those caps as much as I did.” She said hearteningly.

Cait scoffed indignantly at El’s comment, but, deep down, she was dumbfounded. Why did she not want payment? What was her game in all this?

El appeared to see Cait’s turmoil and attempted to probe the situation. “Why are you so obsessed with debts?” El asked, inquisitively.

This question, however, touched a nerve with Cait. “I really _don’t_ want to talk about it.” She snapped before calming down. “Look, give me some time and I’ll think about some way I can repay you. Deal?’

El sensed that Cait genuinely wanted to help and she smiled. “Alright then. Deal.”

Cait interpreted El’s smile as a victory. Maybe El was someone she _could_ get along with.

El finished her Nuka Cola and got up from her chair, stretching slightly as she adjusted herself. “Unfortunately, Cait, I’m completely shattered. So, I’m going to call it a night. You can take the couch, if you would like.” El then walked to one of the chests of drawers and pulled out a blanket which she handed to Cait. “If your sleeping bag is not enough, you can use this for extra warmth. It might not look it, but that couch is really comfortable.” El gave a friendly smile as Cait took the blanket.

“The wash basin is just in the corner down there.” El said, pointing across to the kitchen area. “Alright, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” El patted Cait on the shoulder and then departed to her chambers.

As El walked off, Cait managing a brief “good night” before she disappeared.

Cait quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face in the basin before similarly retiring. Brushing her teeth was one of the few habits she insisted on doing. But after seeing El’s teeth, she was glad she did. Once washed, she returned to her couch and crawled inside her unfurled sleeping bag, placing the blanket on top.

A few moments later, the clunk of a heavy switch extinguished the lights and the home was plunged into darkness; the only remaining light coming from the embers of the wood burner.

It was in this darkness that Cait was finally to able process what had happened. Maybe El _was_ someone she could get along with? However, despite this, doubt persistently gnawed at her. It would all depend on how they fared in the Castle tomorrow.

 _“But, wow! This couch really is comfortable.”_ Cait thought to herself as sleep began to envelop her.

* * *

*EXTRA* 

Just a little extra for all you visual learners out there. I had no idea you could add pictures, so, here is what El looks like. I've done my best at describing her but, sometimes, an image says a thousand words. 

A force to be reckoned with, I think. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Story note: Rather than use a Pip-Boy, I've given El a Pip-Pad instead. It's a lore-friendly device and can be downloaded as a mod in Fallout 4.*
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed that - I certainly enjoyed writing it. Who would have thought that Cait would be trying on clothes?
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos if you can. It really helps to get support. 
> 
> There may be a few days delay in getting the next chapter. As it is the long Easter weekend, and we're all in lockdown, I will be spending it eating too many chocolate eggs and drinking too much beer and rum in the warm weather. 
> 
> See you all next time.


	3. The Favour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El sets about repaying her favour, with Cait alongside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> So, it turns out, I couldn't help but write over the Easter holiday. When you are unable to meet up with friends, you need to find something to do. 
> 
> *WARNING*: This chapter contains scenes that may be upsetting to some readers. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this latest chapter.

_For the first time in ages, Cait was finally able to get away. In an old shed near the farm Cait sat alone, engrossed in the wonders and adventurers of other worlds._

_One day, on one of her secret scavenging trips, Cait had come across an old comic book which she then managed to sneak in under her shirt. If she was ever found out, she would be in big trouble._

_Cait always loved reading comics. They gave her a sense of escapism in a world dominated by hardship and destruction. She couldn’t read any of the words, but, for a young girl such as herself, the faded images of superheroes and vigilantes battling the forces of evil were more than enough to enthral her. Cait stared absorbedly at the images in her hands, hoping beyond hope that she could disappear inside the pages and never return._

_Suddenly, a loud thud from the sole of a heavy boot almost sent the door to the shed flying off its hinges. Cait looked up in terror and was immediately blinded as sunlight flooded into the darkened shed. Seconds later, a tall dark shape moved through the doorway and quickly stomped towards Cait’s position._

_“There you are, you little rat!” a loud gruff voice shouted as a large hand grabbed Cait by her flaming red hair. Cait screamed in pain as she was unceremoniously dragged outside._

_“Papa, stop it!” Cait wailed pitifully, tears beginning to stream down her face, “You’re hurtin’ me!”_

_The tall figure leaned down to look at Cait and saw the open comic book, still clasped in her hand. He snatched it from her and held it at arm’s length. “So, this is what you do all day, lookin’ at pretty pictures?” he said accusingly._

_“It was just a comic book, Papa.” Cait whimpered through floods of tears._

_“What’s a little rat like you need a comic book for?” the figure shouted down to her, brutally throwing the offending comic onto the ground and stamping his boot on it. Cait was then similarly thrown down and left sprawling in the dirt._

_Cait looked around and began to crawl away, desperate to save the comic, and her only source of happiness. As she crawled, the tall figure behind her began to unbuckle his belt and pull it out of the loops of his trousers._

_Cait screamed in pain as she was once again pulled up by her hair. “You wanna read comics?” the tall figure asked rhetorically, “Go on then, read!” Cait’s face was then forcibly pushed into the crumpled comic’s muddied pages._

_Cait moaned and whimpered incoherently as her face was violently smothered into the comic’s mud-stained pages. She waved her arms and kicked her legs helplessly as she hopelessly tried to escape her father’s tortuous grasp._

_Eventually, Cait was released and she panted heavily, trying desperately to catch her breath. Cait’s crying only intensified as she tried to wipe the dirt from her face and eyes._

_The tall figure then began to roll the belt he held around his hand and said menacingly, “This is what happens to little girls who don’t do as they’re told.” He then raised his arm up and brought his full force down onto Cait’s back._

_As the belt struck home, Cait let out a deafening scream-_

* * *

Cait’s eyes flashed open and she shot up from where she slept. She was panting heavily and shivering hysterically. Her eyes quickly darted around her surroundings, anxiously looking for her tormenter in the encompassing darkness.

Eventually, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she found herself sitting in the living area of El’s home. The entire experience had been a dream all along. Cait hugged her knees to her chest and breathed heavily through her nostrils. She was shaking uncontrollably as she tried desperately not to start crying. These kinds of dreams were an almost nightly occurrence, but Cait never got used to them. Only outside influences helped her to forget.

As her breathing steadily returned to a normal pace, Cait realised that she needed to shoot up. If anything could make her forget, it was Psycho. Cait immediately scurried to the other end of the couch and began fumbling for her bag. It, however, didn’t help that she could barely see anything.

Eventually, her hands found the bag and she attempted to open it. Cait heard several items spill and roll onto the floor. Maybe she had been a bit forceful. Although she couldn’t see, Cait somehow managed to get the bag open and she began to feel inside for her salvation. After a few seconds, she pulled out the syringe and sat back on the couch. Once prepped, Cait jabbed the needle into her arm and allowed the liquid to entre her body.

Relief immediately coursed through her veins and Cait leaned her head back in a movement of release. She sighed heavily as her mind began to forget her nightmares and return to a feeling of equilibrium.

The feeling was short-lived, however, and Cait suddenly started to get a strange feeling in her chest. Cait sat forward and began to cough violently. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, Cait placed her hand over her mouth to mask the sound. The coughing, however, would not cease and only seemed to get worse. As Cait tried to take a breath, she removed her hand from her mouth and, to her shock, saw large spots of blood dotted across her hand. Cait could barely accommodate her shock before the coughing resumed.

Eventually, after several minutes, the coughing began to subside and Cait started to feel the worst had passed. With room to breathe, Cait took her hand away from her mouth and examined what she saw. Plastered across her hand were large droplets of blood intermixed with sputum. Even in the darkness, Cait could see it was blood. This was new to Cait. She had gone through periods of feeling somewhat unwell after taking Psycho, but profuse coughing of blood was unknown to her. What did this mean?

Cait barely had time to contemplate this question before a terrible burning began to erupt in her stomach. Cait groaned in pain as the feeling began to rapidly build. It was like someone had just poured a barrel of accelerant into Cait’s stomach and set it alight. As the feelings intensified, Cait decided that she needed to get outside. Whatever this was, it was not going to be pleasant.

Cait spied the second door to El’s home directly across the room from her and immediately launched herself towards it. As she made her way towards the door, a sudden stabbing shot through her pinkie toe. Cait instantly recognised that she had stubbed her toe on the coffee table and bit her bloodstained hand to keep from screaming. The burning feeling in her stomach, however, was unrelenting and Cait continued to the door. With one turn of the handle Cait was outside in the cold mist of Diamond City.

At this hour, the Diamond City market was dark and empty, with only the stadium spotlight illuminating the streets. Cait, however, had no time to admire the scenery. As Cait leaned forward, her hand propped up against a wall, the burning sensation began to rapidly course up her body.

Cait suddenly started to wretch violently as the burning in her stomach exited her body as vomit. Cait felt like she was vomiting fire as she closed her eyes in intense pain. With every wave of vomiting, the burning feeling deepened throughout Cait’s body. For a brief moment, Cait was able to open her eyes and saw a gross mixture of yellow, black, and red material splashed out on the ground. Cait just wanted the whole experience to end.

Eventually, Cait’s stomach ran out of material to expel and the effects began to subside. Still retching occasionally, Cait took a step back and breathed heavily; trying desperately to understand what had just happened. She looked down at where she had vomited but turned her head away quickly, too ashamed to look.

As she stood in empty streets of the Diamond City market, Cait began to shiver. She looked around nervously to see if anyone had seen what had just happened. To her relief, the streets were quiet. Feeling slightly relieved of her anonymity, Cait stumbled back towards the door to El’s home.

Upon stepping through the door, Cait started to feel incredibly lightheaded. Using every ounce of energy she still had, she stumbled around the coffee table and collapsed unceremoniously on the couch.

Darkness immediately enveloped her, and she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Cait awoke to the fragrant smell of freshly cooked soup. Cait inhaled deeply through her nostrils and sighed contentedly at the smell. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was looking up at the ceiling. Cait frowned in confusion; the last thing she remembered was passing out, face first, on the couch. Cait moved her eyes down and found that she was lying on her back with the blanket El had given placed on top of her. A thousand questions suddenly filled Cait’s head as she recounted what had happened the night before. How was she on her back? Had El put the blanket over her? Did El know about the Psycho? Had El heard her last night? Mild panic immediately swept through Cait’s mind as she contemplated what this meant. Was El going to throw her out for being a worthless junkie?

 _“Good morning!”_ El’s voice shocked Cait away from her own questions and she looked around to find El standing over her with two steaming bowls of soup in her hands. She was wearing a baggy grey _Grognak the Barbarian_ t-shirt and her vault suit, that was, once again, half tied up around her waist. However, even when she wasn’t properly dressed, El’s hair seemed to look perfectly smooth. What the hell did she do to it?

“Mornin,’” Cait just about managed as she sat up on the couch. She took the bowl of soup from El’s hand and took a deep breath through her nostrils; allowing the delicious smells to wash over her. After her intense coughing and vomiting episode the night before, Cait greeted the soup like a long-lost friend.

Before taking her own spot, El also took two cans of purified water from under her arm and placed one in front of Cait. Conscious of what had happened the night before, Cait took the can apprehensively and downed a long swig to refresh her painfully dry throat.

As El took her own seat, Cait looked across the room to see Dogmeat quietly eating from one of the metal bowls that El would place in front of him.

They both ate in silence; both too focussed on the food in front of them. Cait, especially, needed to replenish the energy lost the night before. She, however, couldn’t work out when in the night her whole vomiting episode happened. “What time is it?” Cait asked, trying to work it out.

“Last time I checked, it was around 8:30 in the morning.” El replied between mouthfuls of soup.

Cait couldn’t tell time but she interpreted that as morning. Maybe she would never find out when her vomiting episode occurred. Cait finished her soup completely none the wiser of her situation. Maybe that was for the best?

El finished her soup shortly after and collected Cait’s similarly empty bowl from the coffee table. “Finish your water and suit up. We have a lot of ground to cover before we get to the Castle.” El said as she started back towards the kitchen.

Cait downed the rest of her water in one large gulp, feeling infinitely more human than when she had woken up, and went to the sink to clean up and brush her teeth. She must have been at the sink for some time because she soon heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. Cait turned to find El standing commandingly at the bottom of the steps.

El was a sight to behold. She was wearing her signature vault suit that hugged her body like a tightly fitted glove; but Cait could tell she was dressed for battle. Strapped to her legs were several pieces of mismatched polymer armour. Similarly, across her arms and shoulders were the same type of armour that El bought her the day before. What drew most of Cait’s attention, however, was the chest piece she wore. Strapped to El’s chest was a shining piece of steel plating that seemed to fit her body as well as her vault suit. Cait could see several black scorches and welding marks across the adjoining sheets of metal. Whichever way she acquired it, there was no way that El bought this chest armour from a store.

“Where did you get that armour?” Cait asked out of curiosity.

El looked down at her armour and chuckled. “Oh, this?” she knocked the breastplate with one of her closed fists, “I took this off a raider who thought that he could have some fun with me. However, I had to do some adjustments to make it fit better. When you have a body like mine, hardly anything fits right.”

As El spoke, she descended the final step and walked past Cait towards the coat hooks across the wall. She then took her belt, buckled it around her waist, and strapped the accompanying holster to her leg. To complete her look, El unhooked her overcoat and slipped it over her outfit. Once fully outfitted, El turned to face Cait and looked her up and down. “Follow me.” She commanded, walking back towards the living area.

Cait followed El apprehensively, highly suspecting that she was going to present the incriminating evidence that she was a lying, worthless, junkie. Taking a deep breath, Cait prepared for the worst.

To her immense surprise, however, El turned to her left and began ferreting through the wardrobe propped up against the wall. El soon reappeared from behind the wardrobe door holding a brown waist length leather jacket in her hands. “Here, wear this.” El said, holding the jacket out to Cait, “something to keep you warm. It can be quite cold out there in the morning. It’s too small for me, anyway.”

Feeling enormous relief that she had not yet been discovered, Cait took the jacket and folded it in her arms.

“Try it on.” El commanded, “I can’t give you a jacket that doesn’t fit.”

Cait sheepishly slipped the jacket on, still worried that El knew about the Psycho, and took a step back. It was slightly baggy in the waist, but it fitted perfectly around her chest and shoulders.

El smirked, “You look good. Oh, here, take this as well.” El then looked back inside the wardrobe and pulled out a large grey rucksack. Cait took the bag from El and gave her a look of complete bemusement; why was El giving her a new bag? “I figured that you’d like a new bag, seeing as yours is not really usable anymore.” El said.

Cait immediately turned her head to the couch and, to her shock, found her bag brutally torn open with several of her things spilled out on the floor. Cait’s looked back to El and looked directly into her eyes. One thing that Cait had realised, in the short time that they had been together, was that El seemed able to read her like a book. Cait, on the other hand, found it impossible to read what El was thinking. Cait stood there, waiting for the incoming blow.

“Get your stuff together. We need to get going. There’s a canteen in there so you can have something to drink on long journeys.” El eventually said, turning away from Cait and opening one of the chests of drawers next to the wardrobe.

Cait quietly scuttled over to where her bag lay and quickly tipped its contents into the new bag. She then began scurrying around the sofa looking for her syringe of Psycho. To her relief, she found it wedged between the couch cushions. Cait looked over her shoulder to make sure El wasn’t looking and discreetly threw it into her new bag. She also quietly snatched the bottle of rum from the coffee table to stashed it among her other things. Once filled, Cait quickly fastened it tight and threw it over her shoulders. She then collected her shotgun and baseball bat and turned back to El.

Cait found El standing with, what looked like, a powerful service rifle slung over her shoulder. Cait quickly looked El up and down and was deeply impressed by what she saw. El looked formidable. Cait, however, could not give any of this away; she was still suspicious that she knew about the Psycho.

“Here, have this. I found it in the old _Hubris Comics_ building. As you seem to like melee weapons, I think it will suit you better.” El raised her right hand and presented an enormous double-bladed axe to Cait. It looked a formidable weapon and could probably do some serious damage.

“…thank you.” Cait said, dropping her baseball bat and, apprehensively, taking the axe from El’s hand. The weapon itself was heavy, but Cait felt good to hold something so powerful in her hands. Cait smiled and glanced up, only to find El looking at her seriously again.

“Cait, why aren’t you wearing your armour?” El asked, her face not displaying any emotion.

Cait scrunched her face up in protest, “I don’t want to wear it. It’s uncomfortable.” she whinged.

“I know it’s uncomfortable. This isn’t very comfortable,” El gestured to her own armour, “but you need protection.”

“But I don’t want to wear it!” Cait whined, sounding more and more like a stubborn child.

El gritted her teeth and sighed heavily, deeply frustrated by Cait’s stubbornness. “Alright, fine!” she said, holding her hands up in defeat, “don’t wear your armour.” Not content with losing, however, El then jabbed an accusing finger at Cait, warning, “But if you get injured, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

“Fine.” Cait responded stubbornly, feeling slightly smug that she had defeated El in an argument.

El ignored Cait’s gloating and quickly pulled on her gloves and sunglasses. “Come on, let’s get going.” she huffed, turning towards the door. Upon reaching the door, El tapped her leg and Dogmeat attentively followed his master.

 _“Apres vous…”_ El said after opening the door.

Whilst not understanding what she had said, Cait got what El was meaning and walked out into the cool morning.

Cait walked out into a Diamond City that was covered by a heavy morning fog. With the sun only just creeping above the stadium walls, it was considerably cooler than when they had arrived the day before. Cait was glad to have the leather jacket that El had given her. She was, however, not happy with El’s insistence on telling her what to do. She wasn’t a child, and she wasn’t going to wear something that made her feel like a fridge.

As the door to El’s home was locked behind her, Cait felt a light pat on the shoulder. She turned around to find El placing her keys into one of her overcoat’s inside pockets. “Let’s head out.” she said, still sounding frustrated at Cait’s stubbornness.

Cait adjusted her bag and shotgun on her shoulders and quietly followed El towards the Diamond City exit. 

* * *

Despite encountering a few raiders along the Boston waterfront, the journey to the Castle was surprisingly uneventful. El seemed unperturbed by the distance they were having to travel, but Cait was suffering. Whether it was because she was normally incredibly lazy, or if her Psycho addiction was sapping her energy, Cait needed to rest.

Before long, however, as they worked their way down the coastline, they noticed a small group of people gathered outside an abandoned diner. El checked the small screened device she had been using as a map throughout the journey and determined that this was where the Minutemen were encamped.

“Ma’am.” Several of the Minutemen soldiers greeted as El wondered into the camp; a couple of them even doffing their caps to her. Cait, following a few steps behind El, was completely flabbergasted by the entire situation.

El nodded in acknowledgment to the soldiers and began making her way to a silhouetted individual at the other end of the camp. The figure’s back was turned and had one foot propped up on a pile of rubble, as if surveying the scene in front of them.

“Hello there.” El said as she approached the figure from behind.

The silhouetted figure quickly turned around and revealed himself to be a tall, dark skinned, male wearing a heavy navy-blue knee-length coat and similarly coloured tricorne hat. Underneath he wore a pair of tan coloured trousers and brown boots. Clutched in his arms was, what looked like, a rudimentary laser rifle whose power cell looked set to explode with all the red flashes it was emitting. Upon seeing El, he looked reservedly elated by her appearance. “General! It’s good to see you.”

“And you.” El nodded before turning her head towards Cait. “Preston, this is Cait. She’ll be helping us out clear out the Castle. Cait, this is Preston Garvey. He’s the commander of the Minutemen.”

“Discounting the general here.” Preston added, gesturing his hand to El. “But, it’s nice to meet you, Cait. We’re always glad to have extra help on missions like these.”

Cait nodded at Preston’s greeting but was deeply suspicious of his demeanour. _“Why did these Minutemen have to be so fucking noble all the time?”_ Cait thought to herself. Cait also didn’t take kindly to the friendly way Preston and El greeted each other. What ‘favours’ was Preston doing for El, Cait wondered.

Preston turned back to El and gestured his hand towards the imposing building off in the distance. “Well, there it is. Pretty impressive, don’t you think? Its real name is Fort Independence, but the Minutemen always called it the Castle. I hope you can now see why I wanted to take it back.”

El raised her eyebrows in agreement but was conscious of the large gaps on the defensive walls. “It is impressive. But those walls could use some work.”

Preston nodded, understanding El’s reservations, “I’ll admit, it has seen better days. But the Minutemen have never shied away from hard work.”

Cait visibly rolled her eyes at Preston’s comment. Noticing this, El angrily smacked her on the arm with the back of her gloved hand. Cait instinctively flinched and looked over to find El staring at her, a look of palpable irritation plastered across her bespectacled face. Cait just scowled and looked away, not caring what El thought of her. 

Preston continued, “Our main objective is to take the courtyard. That’s where we’ll encounter the most resistance. The wall on this side is the most exposed, but if we circle around, we can attack from the main gate.”

 _“What are we hangin’ around for? Let’s just go straight in and smoke those lobsters.”_ a Minuteman voice called from behind El.

 _“No. If we split up, we can attack from both sides. It will be like smokin’ fish in a barrel.”_ a female voice called.

 _“Why don’t we let them come to us? If we set up a firing line here, we can draw them out.”_ a third Minuteman proposed.

Preston held his hand out to silence any further suggestion. He then looked towards El in expectation. “General, which strategy would you suggest?”

El thought for a few minutes, analysing each suggestion individually. “Let’s not make this overcomplicated. If we do a frontal assault, we can attack with more firepower. That way, they can’t hide away in the Castle when we entre.” As she spoke, El glanced over to Cait and found a devilishly mischievous smirk plastered across her face. _She_ was clearly happy at El’s suggestion.

Preston nodded, “If you say so, General.” He then stood on the pile of rubble behind him and adjusted the laser rifle in his hand. “Alright, people, you heard the General. Let’s move out. Try not to draw their attention until we’re in position.”

* * *

It was eerily quiet as El, Cait, and the Minutemen passed through the rubble-filled gap in the Castle’s wall. El, who had removed her gloves and sunglasses, moved steadily into the courtyard with her service rifle primed and ready for whatever appeared before them. Cait similarly crept into the courtyard with her new double-bladed axe ready to strike. 

As the party made it into the courtyard, the Minutemen began to spread out and head towards the various exits that littered the inner walls of the Castle. The courtyard was covered in upturned dirt and hanging moss. Whatever was living here was clearly not taking care of the place.

Suddenly, several of the piles of upturned dirt sprang to life and numerous varieties of mirelurks erupted from the ground. Upon seeing the invading party, they instantly sculled towards them; their pincers ready to snap them all in half. El, Cait, and the Minutemen immediately opened fire to defend themselves.

Before long, every member of the party was embroiled in their own personal battle with the rampaging mirelurks. El, after shooting a softshell mirelurk to pieces with her rifle, and destroying one of their nests, became involved in a battle of strength as another tried to wrestle El’s rife from her grasp. Eventually, El managed to grab her pistol from its holster and land a shot directly into its face. The beast slumped to the ground and El stood back, panting. She then looked over to Cait and found her smashing the blade of her axe onto the legs of a razorclaw mirelurk. With one strike, the creature toppled and was rendered immobile. Cait then brought the axe down onto the animal's shell, shattering it into multiple pieces.

Not far from Cait’s position, El watched Dogmeat dart between the horde of mirelurks and attack the nests that littered the Castle courtyard. With every nest that Dogmeat attacked, freshly hatched mirelurk levee were left slaughtered, and eggshells smashed.

As the courtyard became strewn with the corpses of dead mirelurks, the noise of bullets began to die down. El fired one last shot of her rifle in a mirelurk’s mandibles and, as it fell, silence descended on the Castle. El let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat and mirelurk blood from her face. She then quickly changed her rifle’s magazine. El looked around the courtyard to find the Minutemen similarly changing their ammunition and wiping the blood and dirt from their weapons and faces.

El’s attention soon focussed on Cait. She was standing with her back against one of the Castle walls. One of her hands remained gripped on her axe, but it was similarly propped up against the wall. What concerned El most, however, was that Cait’s head was bowed low and she was panting heavily. After such an intense battle, Cait looked completely exhausted; more exhausted than the other members of the party. El began making her way over to Cait with the intent of asking if she was alright.

El had just made it to the centre of the courtyard when she felt the ground shake violently, as if an earthquake had just struck. Steadying her feet, El looked across to Cait and their eyes met. Both stared at each other at what was coming next.

Suddenly, a huge explosion was heard from the beyond the Castle’s outer walls. It was unlike any explosion that El had ever heard; more like the sound of a large drill erupting from the under the ground. The explosion was followed by an ungodly roar that reverberated through the passageways of the old fortress.

“Everyone on my position!” Preston called to the Minutemen, readying his rifle in anticipation, “all eyes of the south bastion.”

As the echoes of the roar died away, the loud patter of multiple approaching legs began to fill the courtyard. The sound’s perpetrator soon revealed itself as it came into view from the south side of the Castle. It was a mirelurk queen; a huge abomination of over two hundred years of radioactive mutation and decay. In its path, it sprayed jets of horrible acidic spittle that melted anything it landed on; and in its wake, spawned hordes of new mirelurk hatchlings to feed on any poor soul who happened to get in their mother’s way.

El, Cait, and the Minutemen immediately opened fire; every single one of them trying to empty as many bullets into the beast as possible. But, no matter how many bullets they fired, they could not bring it down. Cait looked over to see one of the Minutemen have the skin of the shoulder burned away by the queen’s acidic spittle. It was then that she made a decision. If bullets weren’t going to bring this beast down, then she would. Cait readied her axe and launched herself at the Mirelurk queen; bringing a heavy blow down onto one of its legs.

* * *

El was running low on ammo. She had managed to incapacitate the Mirelurk queen’s acidic spouts, but she had expended a lot of bullets to do it. Soon she would run out completely. She had just clipped in her last magazine when, to her amazement, she saw Cait run at full force towards the Mirelurk queen and plant her axe directly onto one of the queen’s legs. The blade lodged itself deep in the beast’s flesh and its leg went limp. El looked up to see the creature totter precariously under its own weight. Maybe, this would bring it down?

El’s face changed when the queen began to right itself again. In seconds, it was back up to full height and angrier than ever. El looked down and saw Cait trying desperately to wrench her axe from the beast’s leg.

“Cait, look out!” El shouted.

Cait looked across at El, but it was too late. Before El could even attempt to help, the Mirelurk queen swung one of its huge serrated claws and sent Cait flying the courtyard. El watched in horror as Cait flew across the battlefield, smacking violently against the inner wall, and falling limp and motionless on the ground.

“Cait!” El screamed, attempting to run towards her motionless body. She was, however, stopped in her tracks as the Mirelurk queen came between them. It was in this moment, as El watched Cait’s motionless body, that she needed to bring this beast down, and fast.

As the Minutemen continued to open fire on the creature, El looked around frantically for something that would bring it down. Eventually, her eyes fixed upon one of the Minutmen. On his body, he wore a brown leather belt that hung diagonally across his torso; attached to the belt were an assortment of high explosive grenades. Some were pre-war, while others looked handmade. None of that mattered though; this was El’s only chance.

Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, El put her plan in action. “Give me your belt!” she called to the Minuteman, extending her hand out expectantly.

The Minuteman looked away from the sights of his rifle and gazed back at El. “My what?” he asked, completely bemused at what El had just said.

El, not wasting any time, had already reached the Minuteman in question and was now trying to forcibly tug the belt from its buckle. “I said, give me your belt!” she snarled, through gritted teeth this time.

With the belt free, El looped her fingers through every one of the grenade pins she could get hold of and pulled them all simultaneously. She then ran towards the beast and threw the belt as far and high as she could.

Against all odds, the Mirelurk queen caught the belt in one of the mandibles that surrounded its mouth and began to rip the leather apart.

“Everyone, get down!” Preston shouted, diving to the ground and covering his head with his gloved hands. El quickly followed suit and hoped that her plan would work.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the Castle and a hail of Mirelurk blood and entrails rained down across the courtyard. Once the echoes of the explosion had dissipated, and the shower of Mirelurk entrails had stopped, El got up and looked behind at the scene.

As El turned, she saw the burnt, smoking carcass of what was once the Mirelurk queen. Around its face were deep scorch marks where the grenades had burned through the soft skin under Mirelurk’s hard shell. Several huge chucks of the beast’s body were missing and one of its huge claws was hanging lifelessly; it only remaining attached by a few remaining sinews of skin. What shocked El most, however, was the fact that a sizeable chunk of the top of the Mirelurk’s shell had been blown outwards, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. The shells of Mirelurk queens were known to be incredibly thick. Whatever El had thrown at the creature clearly had some force.

El watched the animal apprehensively, wondering what it would do next. If this failed, she didn’t know what she would do. As if in a Mexican standoff, El right hand was firmly gripped to her pistol on her hip.

Eventually, however, the creature let out, what could only be described as, a low moan and its legs buckled. The Mirelurk crashed to the ground and incredible thud, and a heavy cloud of dirt and dust was sent flying in every direction.

El averted her eyes until the dust passed and she surveyed the scene. As the dust around the edges of the courtyard dissipated, El spotted Cait’s body, lying motionless on the cold hard ground.

“Cait!” El shouted, immediately dropping her rifle and running towards Cait’s lifeless body.

* * *

As she lay staring at the clear blue sky, her breath becoming increasingly laboured, Cait believed that death was finally approaching. Cait tried to move, but a horrendous pain in her stomach caused her to wince loudly. She just managed to look down at her stomach and saw a deep gash across her corset. She couldn’t see how bad it was, but there seemed to be a steady stream of blood dripping from it.

Cait’s head fell back to the ground and she took a deep laboured breath. It was in this moment that she started to evaluate her life. Despite thinking desperately for something worthy to remember, Cait could think of nothing. Immense sadness suddenly filled Cait’s mind as she realised that she had achieved absolutely nothing in her life. She had gone from a stupid girl, to raiders’ plaything, to cage fighter. And through all of it, she wasted it on an addiction that was slowly eating her from the inside out. And now, this was how it ended; being mauled by a Mirelurk and bleeding out on the cold ground of an old fortress.

But Cait didn’t want to die; that was where her parents were; she didn’t want to go where her parents were. What would they say to her? What would they do to her?

 _“Cait! Cait, look at me, look at me_!” a voice called to her.

Cait followed the voice, turned her head, and saw a dark shape kneeling next to her. With all the energy she could muster, Cait focussed her vision on the shape. Eventually, the shape revealed itself to be El, and Cait began to sob.

“I-I don’t wanna die.” Cait wept. She had not cried in years. But as she readied herself for death, and with El glinting eyes staring at her, Cait couldn’t help herself.

El cupped Cait’s cheek in her hand and turned her head to hers. “You’re not going to die, Cait. Just stay with me.”

* * *

El needed to get Cait out of the open. She needed to get somewhere quieter, and away from the battlefield. El looked around and eyed an entrance leading to the interior of the Castle. If she could get Cait in there, then, maybe, she could save her life.

Realising that the only way of getting Cait there was to drag her, El took a deep breath. El tried to reassure Cait, “Cait, listen to me. You’re going to be ok. But I need to get you out of here. I’m sorry, but it’s going to hurt.” 

Cait did not respond, she just continued to sob. “I…I don’t wanna die.” Cait moaned between heavy, sobbing, breaths.

El decided that that was all she was going to get out of Cait. Also, if she didn’t act fast, Cait was going to bleed out in front of her. Adjusting her position, and grabbing hold of the straps of Cait’s rucksack, El began to pull.

Tears streamed down Cait’s face as she let out a pained, ungodly, scream. El winced at the sound, but knew she had to keep going. “I’m sorry, Cait. I’m sorry.” El groaned, using all her strength to drag her companion to shelter. Cait was not desperately tall, or heavy, but dragging the dead weight of Cait’s body was an uphill struggle or El.

Eventually, El managed to get Cait inside, and positioned her in one the alcoves along the Castle’s corridors; removing her rucksack and jacket in the process. She then started frantically unbuttoning Cait’s corset, trying desperately to remain calm. She had done this kind of thing during actual battles; why should this be any different? Despite El’s reserve, however, Cait’s corset wouldn’t unbutton fast enough. Admitting defeat, El reached down to her feet and pulled out a small knife from her shoe. She then sliced the knife down the middle of the leather and wrenched the two halves apart.

The fact that Cait was practically half naked didn’t even factor into El’s mind; El’s primary concern was the wound covering Cait’s stomach. Stretching from the top of Cait’s right hip to just below her left breast was a deep red gash; made by the Mirelurk queen’s claw. To make matters worse, El’s removal of Cait’s corset left no pressure on the wound and it began bleeding profusely. El shuddered as she examined the wound.

El needed to work fast. In an instant, she threw off her rucksack and tipped its contents onto the ground. Among the various items inside was a large green tin that El swiped up and opened; revealing an assortment of first aid items, including Stimpaks, needles, thread, and other necessities. El had found the tin during a highly profitable scavenge, knowing that these items would prove essential in the future. But none of that mattered now.

Immediately, El retrieved one of the Stimpaks and in injected it into Cait’s side. The mechanical hiss of the syringe sent the cool liquid into Cait’s and she shuddered. To El’s delight, the bleeding in Cait’s wound began to stop and El let out a sigh of relief. One Stimpak, however, was not going to be enough. Stimpaks needed to be used sparingly; meaning that El needed to do this the old-fashioned way.

Secondly, El collected the needle and thread in her hands and painstakingly threaded the silk through the needle’s eye. She went into Cait’s bag and pulled out the bottle of rum she had been carrying. El never saw Cait take it, the very fact it was missing from the coffee table that morning gave El all the evidence she needed. Maybe Cait saw this coming? Using as much patience as she had left, El lowered the thread into the bottle and swirled it; ensuring that as much of the thread was covered as possible.

Once sufficiently disinfected, El repositioned herself over Cait’s body and hovered the needle over the top end of Cait’s wound. El then took a deep breath and looked into Cait’s crying eyes, “I’m sorry, Cait, but this is going to sting a bit.”

Cait just sobbed, too caught up in her own turmoil to respond.

Knowing that she would get no other response, El began carefully stitching the wound; keeping as much attention on Cait’s condition as she could. “Just hold on, Cait. Hold on.” El said breathlessly, trying not collapse from exhaustion. “This is why you wear armour.” El said to herself through gritted teeth. 

After what seemed like an age, El finally finished the wound stretching across Cait’s body. Once she had successfully tied off the thread she sighed heavily and leant over Cait’s face. Cait had stopped sobbing, but she was slipping in and out of consciousness. El looked over to the first aid kit and spied the second Stimpak, lying on the ground among the other items. El bit her lip, debating on whether to use it. Stimpaks were not to be squandered, but she wasn’t sure if Cait would pull through on her own.

Eventually, El bowed her head and swiped the Stimpak off the ground. With no certainty that her needlework was any good, El couldn’t take any chances. As El injected the syringe, and the cool clear liquid coursed through Cait’s body, the wound across began to close up around the stitches that El had made. El looked up at Cait and watched her slowly slip into unconsciousness; El then leant her ear to Cait’s chest and felt a low, but steady, heartbeat. A further check of Cait’s nostrils confirmed to El that she was breathing; Cait was going to be okay.

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, El sat back and leant herself against one of the alcove walls. Once relaxed, El looked down at her hands; they were shaking and covered with blood. El shuddered at the sight, never liking the feel of blood on her hands. After all those years in the military, El could never get used to it. Reaching across to where her bag lay, El collected her water canteen. She then unscrewed the top and poured the water inside onto her bloodied hands.

Once her hands were cleaned sufficiently, El leant her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Before she could even react, El was sound asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that. Please leave a comment and kudos if you can. 
> 
> A couple of things:
> 
> #1: I purposely left descriptions of Cait's parents vague. I don't think they warrant a description.
> 
> #2: I am not a medic. I am not familiar with the intricacies of first aid. As a result, my story may not be 100% accurate. This is purely a plot device, and, quite honestly, I don't care if it's not truly accurate. 
> 
> Also, if any of you noticed my Star Wars reference, I salute you. I was happy to get something similar to the 'famous line' in my story. 
> 
> Anyway, new chapter to come soon. See you then.


	4. Open Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After saving her life, Cait feels obliged to tell El more about her. What will El's reaction be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all.
> 
> Hope you are all well. 
> 
> So, the end of the last chapter was a bit of a cliffhanger. 
> 
> Please enjoy this next chapter.

Cait awoke staring up at a curved red brick ceiling, feeling like she had the worst hangover in her life. She let out an audible groan as she tried to work out what had happened and where she was. The last thing she remembered was attacking a Mirelurk with an axe. The rest was just a blur.

A low grumble suddenly caught Cait’s attention. Still blinking the sleep away from her eyes, Cait looked over to find El sitting with her back propped up against the wall; her armour chest piece and overcoat lying next to her. Her head was bowed low and she was snoring lightly from under, what looked like, a large tricorne hat that was just covering her eyes. In her hands she held an old and tattered book that was open on her lap.

“El?” Cait croaked, her throat feeling incredibly dry as she spoke.

El let out a low snort and blinked herself awake. She sighed heavily and dopily looked around to where Cait was sleeping. Upon seeing Cait, El smiled and her eyes glinted that hazel colour that always seemed to mesmerize Cait. “Hi Cait, you're finally awake.” El grumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit shit, if I’m honest.” Cait groaned trying to look around at her surroundings. “What happened? Where am I? Did I get drunk or somethin’?”

“You’re in the Castle, Cait; and, no, you didn’t get drunk. You lost a lot of blood though.” El said, closing her book and taking off her hat.

“I lost what?” Cait asked, feeling more and more confused. Cait then winced in pain as she tried to sit up from where she lay. As Cait rose, she sensed a deeply uncomfortable stabbing pain coming from her stomach and she winced loudly. It was only when she moved that Cait realised that there was a blanket lying on top of her. She had just managed to prop herself up on her hands when the blanket fell and revealed her bare chest. Tightly wrapped around her chest and waist was a roll of white bandages. Cait instinctively tried to cover her exposed chest with the blanket and looked up at El in immense shock.

El immediately knelt next to Cait and cradled the back of her head. “Cait, Cait, it’s alright. It’s alright.” she said, attempting to stop Cait from panicking.

“B-b-but what happened? Where are my clothes?” Cait asked. Cait had always been paranoid about her things going missing.

“Cait, just relax. Your corset is over there. I had to cut open your corset, but I repaired it while you were out cold.” El gestured her head towards the end of Cait’s blanket. Cait looked across to find her corset and rucksack lying at the base of her blanket. El then gradually lowered Cait back onto her pillow.

“Oh, watch out for that.” El moved Cait’s right arm to stop it getting tangled. Cait turned her head to find a clear tube protruding from her arm and leading up to a bag of clear liquid hanging from a one of the blades of Cait’s axe.

“But I want to know what happened?” Cait asked stubbornly, resisting El’s attempts to get her to relax.

El sighed in defeat. The only way she was going to get Cait to relax was to come clean now. “Okay, Cait. Just lie down, and I’ll talk.”

Cait obediently returned to her original position, allowing El to place the blanket back over her. She, however, did not take her off eyes away from El. El then sat back and took a deep breath. “Cait, when you attacked the Mirelurk queen, you got very badly injured. You were trying to pull your axe from its leg, and you got swiped by one of its claws. It left a huge gash across your body and I had to stitch you back up, hence the bandages. Just as I had finished, you passed out.”

It all suddenly made sense to Cait. “How long was I out?” Cait asked, feeling a little embarrassed by the fact that she was gutted by a Mirelurk.

“About a day, or so.” El said. “I had no idea when you would wake up, so I hooked you up on the IV bag.”

El then went into her rucksack and pulled out a stimpak and Cait’s canteen. “Look, Cait, I need to do some work with the Minutemen. You should get some more rest. I’ll leave this for you to have a drink; you’re probably going to be a bit dehydrated with the amount you were crying as I stitched you up. Also, inject this stimpak in about an hour. That should give you some strength.” El smiled as she placed the items down in front of Cait.

Cait needed to say something, but El was already on her feet and heading out to the courtyard.

“El!” Cait just about managed to shout.

El stopped at the doorway and turned around, pulling a friendly smile as she looked at Cait.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry about the armour.” Cait stuttered, not wanting to make eye contact with El.

El’s face hardened and Cait wondered if, maybe, she shouldn’t have said anything. El was still feeling slightly annoyed that she literally had to save Cait’s life because of her stubbornness. However, when she looked at Cait, she could see genuine remorse in her eyes. As El had rarely seen Cait this way, she interpreted that Cait was being honest. Eventually, El’s face softened and she bowed her head and sighed, “It’s alright, Cait. We all make mistakes. Get some rest, and don’t forget the stimpak.” El then turned around and walked out into the courtyard. 

* * *

Cait lay back on her pillow, staring at the ceiling, her mind awash with thought about what had happened to her. El had saved her life; she’d dragged her away from the battle, stitched her wounds, and made sure she didn’t die alone, and afraid.

And through all of it, Cait had bared her soul and wept in front of El. Cait had not cried in years, so this was a real surprise for her. El had basically seen right through her. Cait wondered what El would think of her now. Through years of pain and hardship, Cait had built up a persona of being impervious to emotion. What would she do now that that bluff was called?

Cait began to fidget under her blanket, feeling incredibly uneasy about herself. Eventually, her fingers ran over one of the many pop marks that dotted Cait’s arm. Upon feeling the pop marks, Cait’s eyes darted to her bag sitting at the end of where she lay. Using all the energy she had, Cait started moving towards her bag; wincing in pain as her stiches dug into her body.

Swiping her bag from the opposite wall Cait fumbled one-handed through to find the only crutch she truly needed. As her other arm was hooked up to an IV bag, she was conscious to not move it too much, lest she accidentally pulled the drip out. After some blind searching, Cait retrieved her vial of Psycho and prepped it for injection. Positioning it on her left arm, Cait jabbed the needle in and let the black liquid slowly course into her body. Cait sighed heavily as the liquid passed through her veins and she slowly eased herself into a sitting position, wincing as the stiches dig into her skin.

However, much as the day before, the high was short lived and Cait, once again, started to feel desperately unwell. Cait opened her eyes and placed her hand on her stomach, feeling unnaturally queasy all of a sudden. Seconds later, the coughing started and Cait was plunged into another bout of near suffocation. Struggling to breathe, Cait bit into her open hand as her stitches made the coughing pains almost unbearable.

Eventually, the coughing subsided and Cait was finally able to catch her breath. Removing her hand from her mouth, Cait looked down at her open palm to find a grizzly splatter of pure blood covering the inside of her hand. Despite sitting alone in a Castle alcove, Cait looked at her hand with a feeling of intense guilt and embarrassment. _“What’s happening to me?’_ Cait thought to herself.

Suddenly a terrific pain, made worse by her stitches, erupted inside Cait’s stomach and she agonisingly stifled a yell. Cait knew this would be bad as her stomach growled in agony. Desperately, Cait looked around for somewhere she could go; she couldn’t vomit over her blankets, where El could find it. If El found out, she’d sling her out faster than you’d clear out a Radroach infestation.

There was nowhere Cait could go without being spotted. This place was crawling with Minutemen, and they would likely go straight to El if she was discovered. Admitting defeat, and clutching her aching stomach, Cait rested the back of her head on the wall and closed her eyes. This was how it went; her addiction, once again, destroyed everything she laid her eyes upon.

Then, salvation; as Cait opened her eyes, she noticed a small stone porthole in the Castle wall. If she could get up there, then maybe, she would be safe.

Using all the strength she could muster, Cait hauled herself to her feet, grimacing through the pain of her stomach and stitches. Lacking much dexterity, Cait winced as she accidentally pulled the IV drip out her arm in the process. Once on her feet, Cait attempted to stick her head through the stone porthole. To Cait’s intense relief, the porthole was just big enough to put her head through.

Cait’s head was barely outside the Castle wall before she began to violently wretch. Pretty soon the vomiting began again and Cait was plunged into a whole new layer of pain. Cait moaned and coughed as liquid fire seeped out of her mouth and splattered across the ground in the form of vomit and blood. Throughout it all, Cait was trapped, struggling to move within the small porthole.

Eventually, the burning in Cait’s stomach subsided and the vomited finally stopped. Cait breathed heavily as she pulled her head back into the Castle interior; she retched the entire time. Much like before, Cait suddenly became incredibly lightheaded and her legs gave way. Crashing to the ground, Cait struggled to remain conscious long enough to get back in bed. It was then that she spied the stimpak sitting next to her blanket. Swiping the stimpak, Cait quickly injected herself and sighed heavily as the cool, refreshing, liquid coursed through her aching body.

Moving slowly back to her original position, Cait just managed to get her blanket over her again before her vision began to darken. Within minutes, Cait had passed out cold into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Cait awoke to find El, once again, by her side. This time, however, she was perched on an old wooden chair and deeply engrossed in a book. Cait didn’t know whether it was the same book that El’s was reading the last time Cait saw her; quite frankly, she didn’t care that much. Cait shuffled slightly and felt something sharp lightly prick her skin. Immediately recognising this to be her Psycho, Cait became increasingly paranoid; maybe El hadn’t seen it? She needed to find a way to get it into her bag without El noticing.

After a few moments, El glanced up from her book and smiled. “Cait, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Cait tried not to sound too awkward as she shuffled the syringe under her legs. “Okay, I suppose. Stitches hurt though. What you readin’?’ Cait asked in an attempt at small talk.

“Oh, nothing really. Just some Shakespeare. _Twelfth Night_. Found it in the old General’s quarters.” El closed the book and got up from her chair. “Well, hopefully, that stimpak will have helped your wound heal a bit more.”

El then knelt in front of Cait and began pulling her blanket back. “However, I think it would be best if we changed your bandages.”

The blanket had just been pulled back from Cait’s bandaged breasts when Cait instinctively snatched it from El’s hand. Cait’s actions had the image of an attempt to cover her modestly, but it was mostly of fear that El would find the hidden Psycho.

El flinched slightly at Cait’s reaction. In the time that she had known her, El had never once thought that Cait was concerned about her modesty. This kind of a reaction was new, and frankly, a little odd. El needed to use of her pre-war skills and approach this with tact. “Cait, these bandages are couple of days old now. It’s best that we change them.”

Cait clutched the blanket tightly to her chest, not wanting to make eye contact with El. “They’re fine. I don’t need them changed.” she winged.

El leaned in slightly closer, doing her best to reason with her. “It’s for your own benefit, Cait. Clean bandages will stop you catching an infection.”

“I said I’m fine.” Cait replied stubbornly.

Realising that the carrot wasn’t going to work, El decided that she would need to resort to the stick. “Look, Cait, if you’re so concerned, you can have your back turned to me. That way, I won’t see anything.” El said commandingly, leaning in closely to get Cait’s attention.

This time, Cait’s eyes met El’s and she gave a brief and shaky nod. Moving the blanket carefully to keep the Psycho hidden, Cait slowly positioned herself so she was sitting in front of El. Cait shivered as El ran a cold pair scissors up her back as she sliced the bandages.

As the bandages fell away, El looked on in shock as she was greeted by, what can only be described as, something equivalent to the slashed remains of a canvas. Across her back, in every direction, Cait was peppered with scars. Some was old and healed, others were more recent; each one, however, betrayed a life of pain and hardship. Cait shivered as El ran her hand along Cait’s back, following the scars with her fingers. El knew almost nothing about Cait’s past, but these scars were enough to make her believe that it was not a happy one. El then looked up to see Cait glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. As their eyes met, Cait bowed her head and looked away; as if in shame. El then quickly got back to the task in hand and collected the bandages from her first aid kit.

Before long El had successfully changed Cait’s bandages and she set about packing up the first aid kit. El looked up to find that Cait hadn’t moved; still trying to cover her body with her blanket. Something wasn’t right; Cait was feelingly overly withdrawn. El needed to get to the bottom of this. “Cait, are you alright? I’ve finished your bandages.” El said reassuringly.

“Ur, thanks.” Cait replied, failing to sound convincing.

El put a hand on Cait’s shoulder, attempting to turn her around, “Is something wrong, Cait?”

Sensing El’s insistence, Cait shuffled round so she was facing her; making sure that her Psycho was sufficiently covered. She needed to get El away so she could hide it. She needed to think of something, and fast. “Urr, yeah. It’s just that... it’s…it’s…it’s really cold and lonely here.” Cait tried her best to seem convincing.

“Well, would you like to leave?” El asked.

Cait had to admit, the Castle _was_ a cold and lonely place. Maybe she did want to leave. Eventually, Cait nodded.

El smiled and seemed genuinely happy at Cait’s reply. “I’m glad you said that. I don’t like this place either. It’s cold and damp.” El adjusted herself slightly to be more comfortable, “Look, I’ve been in contact with the Minutemen in Sanctuary and I’ve arranged to go back there to help with the teleporter. You don’t have to, but would you like come with me?”

Cait nodded immediately. She didn’t quite know why she nodded so vigorously; she just wanted to leave with El.

“Alright, get your stuff together and I’ll go and square things with Preston. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve fulfilled my favour. What we’ll do is go back to Diamond City for the night, then tomorrow, we’ll head out to Sanctuary. That sound good?” El had that memorising glint in her hazel eyes as she spoke.

Cait nodded and gave a light smile. Whilst this wasn’t her first priority, she _was_ glad to be leaving this place.

“Good. Get your things together. I’ll settle things with Preston.” El smiled and stood up before collecting her things and making her way back out into the courtyard.

* * *

With El out of earshot, Cait immediately swiped her Psycho from under her blanket and threw it into her bag. She then leant her head against the back wall and sighed; she was safe. Cait didn’t like this sleuthing around, but she didn’t know El well enough to know how she would react if her addiction was discovered. Until things changed, she couldn’t take any chances.

But things had changed. El had saved her life. When Cait was lying dead on the cold hard ground, El was prepared to bring down a Mirelurk queen in order to save her. And after all that, she wanted Cait to come with her back to Sanctuary? Maybe El had a right to know something about her; seeing as she had saved her?

Cait shook her head before she could spiral anymore. Struggling to her feet, Cait slowly regained her balance and walked over to where her corset lay. She winced loudly as she painstakingly buttoned up her corset, groaning as the tight leather dug into her stitches.

Once buttoned, Cait collected her bag and shotgun the against the wall and went to collect her axe. It was there that she noticed the IV bag still hooked onto the blade. Cait wondered whether El had noticed it earlier. Taking no chances, Cait quickly unhooked the bag and threw it out the porthole across from her. If there was no evidence, El couldn’t accuse her of anything.

Fully kitted out, Cait walked back out into the sunlit courtyard.

* * *

Cait found El in the middle of the Castle courtyard. Her and a group of Minutemen were gathered around a small hut at the bottom of a tall radio tower in the centre of the courtyard. Inside the small hut a single Minutemen sat at a desk, perpetually tuned into the radio. Between choruses of ear bleeding violin music, an animated voice would beam from the radio tower and was heard throughout the Castle. _“This is Radio Freedom, the Voice of the Minutemen! All quiet, which is how we like it.”_ the voice would call out.

Cait scoffed slightly at the announcement, _“Radio Freedom, what a joke”_ Cait thought to herself. 

_“…I do hope you understand, Preston.”_ Cait heard El say to Preston as she approached.

“Well, you have repaid the favour. I, personally, would have preferred that you stay a few days to help us build the cannons. But, if you mind is made up, I can’t force you. Will you go directly to Sanctuary?” Preston asked, feeling slightly saddened at El and Cait’s departure.

“No, not directly. We’ll go back to Diamond City for the night. We’ll then head up to Sanctuary in the morning.” El said, turning to Cait as she approached her.

Preston nodded, “I’ll inform the Minutemen in Sanctuary of your arrival. Thank you for all your help in retaking the Castle and getting us access to the armoury. It will a great help for us. And thanks to you too, Miss Cait. We’ll be sure to call you the next time we need to bring down a Mirelurk Queen.” Preston said jokingly.

Cait gave a small, but toothless smile. She didn’t think he was making fun of her, but Cait felt a little embarrassed at the consequences of what she had done.

“It’s no problem, Preston. I’ll see you around. You can find me in Diamond City or Sanctuary.” El said, putting on her gloves and sunglasses.

Preston nodded to both El and Cait, “Safe travels, General.”

El adjusted her rucksack and slung her rifle over her shoulder. She then turned to Cait and gestured to the large gap in the outer wall, smiling as she did it.

Cait bowed her head to hide a light blush spreading across her face as she followed El out of the Castle.

* * *

The Castle was far behind them and they would soon be entering the ruins of downtown Boston again; but Cait was suspicious. Since they left the Castle, El had been walking a particular route which would send them into the Boston Common from the south. That would bring them past somewhere that Cait did not want to see again. She needed to tell El but needed make it convincing.

 _“El?”_ Cait croaked inaudibly, her voice completely dry from the journey. After clearing her throat, Cait repeated, “El?”

“Hmm?” El said chirpily, turning her head to look at Cait.

Cait needed to think fast. “C-can we…go a different way?”

El turned around, frowning, and walked towards Cait. “Why, this route is the fastest. Is something wrong, Cait?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Cait lowered her face slightly, trying not to make eye contact.

El looked to argue with Cait until she saw her eyes. As El looked, she could see genuine fear; as if Cait was frightened about something. It was then that she realised what Cait was on about; the route they were walking would take them past the Combat Zone. El’s face softened, “Alright, Cait, we’ll go a different route. Probably a good idea actually. I don’t have much ammo left, and we’re bound to meet some raiders if we go this way. Why don’t we go west instead?”

Cait looked up and bit her bottom lip. She was happy that El understood but didn’t want to show it.

El gave a toothless, but genuinely friendly smile. “Come on, let’s go.” El said walking off west.

* * *

Compared to a Mirelurk infested fortress, the bustling streets of Diamond City were almost a welcome relief. As both ladies stepped off the causeway, El let out a deep contently sigh. She clearly seemed glad to be back again.

Cait didn’t care where they were, just as long as far from the Combat Zone as possible. She did admit that, after the Castle, Diamond City had increased somewhat in its charm. However, Cait’s stomach meant that she could not enjoy it much. Whilst on their journey, Cait’s had started to feel her leather corset uncomfortably rubbing against her stitches. At first, Cait just suffered through the pain; but now, as they entered Diamond City, it was near excruciating.

If El had found out, she would have forced Cait to change into the new shirt that she had bought her. However, Cait was still feeling awkward about her new clothes. In Cait’s opinion, pain was a lesser evil than giving El the satisfaction.

As they passed _Publick Occurrences_ they were noticed by Piper who was busy printing whatever new story she had concocted. As they passed, she waved at El, “Why you all geared up, Blue? Found the Institute yet?” she shouted.

El smirked slightly and waved back. “Not today. We just retook the Castle for the Minutemen. The place was crawling with Mirelurks.” El said in a fake sensationalist tone.

Piper beamed with delight and shouted back, “I gotta write a story about that. I’ll be looking for you!”

El chuckled, waved again, and continued walking towards the market.

* * *

After a short forage among the market stalls for supplies, El and Cait soon found themselves back at El’s house. Upon entering the living area, Cait allowed her bag to fall from her shoulders and she slumped on the sofa. She was shattered, and her stitches just made it worse. She groaned in pain as her corset rubbed uncomfortably against her skin.

 _“God, I’m absolutely shattered!”_ Cait looked up to see El slump down in the wingback chair across from her. She had removed her coat and armour and was back down to her tightly fitting vault suit. Her head was rested in one of her palms and her eyelids were slowly becoming heavier.

Similarly, Dogmeat pattered over to his little alcove and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

Eventually, El shook her head out of sleep and looked up at Cait. “We should take your stitches out. With the amount of Stimpaks and IV you’ve been hooked up with, the wound will be pretty healed by now.” she said, getting up from her seat.

Cait lowered her head and looked to argue. “Why? They’re fine. We can do it tomorrow.”

El was, however, already standing over Cait with her first aid kit in hand. “Just lie back, Cait. It will take minutes. You can use the blanket behind you if you’re worried.”

Realising that El was not going to take no for an answer, Cait threw the blanket around her shoulders and unbuttoned her corset; letting out a low contented breath as her corset loosened. Once she was able to breathe properly again, Cait lay back on the couch and wrapped the blanket around her chest.

For the next few minutes El carefully removed each of the bandages and stitches that snaked along Cait’s body. Cait watched El silently, hissing occasionally as the stitches were removed.

“There, done. You’ll have on hell of a scar, but you’ll live.” El said cheerfully as she packed the scissors away. Her face, however, hardened quickly, “Now, Cait, if it’s not too much trouble, would you _please_ put on that shirt I bought you. You’ve been groaning, hissing, wincing, and wheezing since we left the Castle. Put on that shirt and breathe a little easy.” El said commandingly.

“But I-,” Cait tried to answer back.

El just put her hand up. “I have spoken.” she said unapologetically as she turned away.

Cait scrunched her face in frustration. Not only was El still telling her what to do, but she also knew that Cait had been suffering on their travels. Why was El so damn smart? Accepting defeat, Cait fished her bra and shirt out of her bag and quietly dressed herself.

Whilst trying to adjust her bra, Cait saw El approaching again. She was slipping her overcoat over her shoulders. “That’s better. You look nice. Now, I don’t know about you, but I fancy a drink. Want to come along?” El gave Cait a friendly, but slightly mischievous, smile as she spoke.

The prospect of alcohol was not something that Cait would turn down lightly. “Thought you’d never ask.” Cait said grabbing her jacket to hide her blush.

* * *

Much like the Combat Zone, the Dugout Inn was full of the same lowlifes and scum, slowly drinking and mulling their existences away. The appearance of Cait and El, however, was enough to drag some of them out of their stupors. As El strode towards the bar, several of the bar’s locals stared at her lecherously. Despite the gazes, El ignored them and continued walking. Cait, on the other hand, kept her eyes on El’s back as she followed behind.

Once at the bar, El and Cait were greeted by a man whose face was, in Cait’s opinion, either overly friendly, or, lecherous. “Well, if it isn’t my most beautiful customer.” the man said happily to El in an accent that Cait didn’t recognise. He then turned to Cait with the same grin plastered across his face. “And she’s brought a beautiful friend.”

Cait wasn’t in the mood for this, but just passed it off. “Take a hike, bozo.” Cait said, rolling her eyes.

The man behind the bar threw his head back and laughed loudly, deeply impressed by Cait’s response. “Ha! I like you already. I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends.” He then stood back with his arms extended in a friendly embrace. “Now, what can I get you two beautiful ladies? Is this finally the day you order a beer?” he asked El.

El chuckled as she removed her sunglasses. “Not today, Vlad. Just a beer for Cait, and a Nuka Cola for me.”

Vlad smiled and pointed his finger at El. “I’m counting the days till you order a beer.”

“Keep on counting, Vlad.” El smirked as she took a seat on one of the bar stools.

El and Cait took their seats on two bar stools and sat quietly as their drinks arrived. They both took a deep gulp and sighed gladly as the refreshing liquid entered their bodies.

Eventually, El put her drink down and turned to Cait. “You did well at the Castle, Cait. You really made a difference.”

Cait just scoffed as she turned to look to El. She was, however, surprised to find El was smiling at her. “Not as good as you.” Cait replied as she turned back to her beer. Suddenly, something caught her attention and she turned back. “How did you bring down that Mirelurk Queen again?” Cait asked, an enthralled smile across her face. 

“Threw a grenade belt at its face and the dumb crab caught it.” El said with a smirk.

“That’s fuckin' awesome!” Cait said, trying hard to contain her enthusiasm. That was the sort of thing you’d see in comic books. If it was, then El was one badass superhero.

El’s face suddenly turned slightly serious. “Well, I saw you lying on the ground and I just made an impulse decision. I couldn’t just let you bleed out.” El turned her head and Cait saw a look of genuine concern for her welfare.

Cait looked away and tried to concentrate on her beer, but El could read Cait like a book. Cait’s eyes were burning with embarrassment, and her cheeks were bright pink.

El chose not to pursue and returned to her own drink. She took a large sip of her Nuka Cola but let a slightly playful smile cross her lips. She had to admit, when she wasn’t being an obnoxious bitch, Cait did look rather cute when she was embarrassed.

They both drank quietly until Cait heard a peculiar noise coming from behind them. It sounded like someone was shuffling towards them. However, the shuffling seemed overly listless and sluggish. Whoever was behind them was clearly completely wasted. _“Well, hello beautiful. Where have you been all my life?”_ the voice leered drunkenly to Cait and El.

Cait was ready to turn around and knock his lights out. Preparing for battle, Cait began to slowly swivel round in her stool, ready to punch this drunken lowlife in his arrogant face.

She was, however, stopped in her tracks as El’s hand landed forcefully on her arm. Cait looked up to find El giving her an incredibly coquettish smile. As Cait stared, El winked suggestively at her and began to unzip her vault suit. Before Cait knew what was even going on, El’s boobs were almost spilling out of her vault suit and she turned in her seat.

“Well, hey there handsome. Where have you been all my life?” El said suggestively as she crossed her legs and leant forward to expose her highly pronounced cleavage. El’s hazel eyes were flashing that familiar glint that Cait found so unusually mesmerising.

“Lookin’ for you, gorgeous.” The drunk said, clearly staring at El’s boobs.

Playing him right into her hands, El gestured her finger towards him and hunched her shoulders slightly, pressing her boobs together in the process. “Well, why don’t you come over here and find out what you’ve been missing.” El said, flashing her eyelashes.

The drunk staggered forward, his mouth visibly salivating as he approached. He clearly expected to get lucky tonight. His eyes did not once leave El’s exposed boobs.

El’s provocative gesture soon turned into a clenched fist and her face suddenly changed to one of commanding strength. Before Cait knew what had happened, El landed a punch directly into the drunk’s face. The drunk stood in front of them, completely dumbfound. After a few seconds, however, his eyes crossed, and he tumbled backwards onto the floor. 

As he hit the ground, Cait turned to El and saw her pick up her Nuka Cola and down it in one large swig. After slamming the empty bottle onto the bar counter, El looked at Cait. “Drink up. I’m starving.” She said authoritatively.

Following El’s orders instantly, Cait downed her beer and followed El towards the door. She was feeling completely thunderstruck, and, quite honestly, a little aroused.

* * *

As El stood at her stove in the kitchen, Cait sat on the living room couch quietly cleaning her shotgun. Each individual piece was carefully laid out in its own place as Cait systematically cleaned them down to a pristine finish. Cait always enjoyed cleaning her shotgun; it allowed her to take her mind off things.

These days, especially, Cait seemed to constantly have a lot on her mind; mostly about El. Ever since the Castle, Cait had been thinking long and hard about this woman with whom she travelled. When Cait had first met El, she was perfectly happy to know nothing about El. She was likewise happy for El to know nothing about herself. The events in the Castle had changed that, however, and Cait was unsure of how long she could keep up that charade.

When Cait had been struck by the Mirelurk Queen, El had seen her with all her defences down. As she lay on the cold ground of the Castle courtyard, the emotional wall that Cait had built up over years of pain and hardship finally broke down. When the wall came down, El had seen Cait weep. In that moment, Cait was not longer a fearsome pit fighter; just a frightened young woman with nothing left to live for. And through all that, El had cleaned her wounds, stitched them up, and done everything in her power make sure she was safe. Nobody had ever done that for Cait. 

With her bluff now played, Cait wondered if El had earned the right to know something about her. Cait just didn’t how El would react. What if she told her that she was weak? What if she laughed at her? What if she threw her out?

 _“Cait, dinner.”_ a voice called, stopping Cait’s mind from spiralling any further. Cait looked up to find El standing over her and holding two plates in her hands.

“Oh, urrr, thanks.” Cait stuttered as she, in a matter of seconds, reassembled her shotgun and placed it on the floor.

“Most impressive.” El said she placed one of the plates on the coffee table.

As El took her own seat, Cait examined what was on her plate. Dominating the dish was a large Brahmin steak that appeared to almost cover the entire plate. Dotted across the steak’s surfaces were small droplets of sizzling fat that made Cait’s mouth water. Next to the delectable lump of meat was a pile of equally appetising Instamash and a large piece of corn. The entire spread looked simply delicious.

“Mmmmm, this is fuckin’ delicious.” Cait said between mouthfuls of Brahmin steak.

“Well, I do try.” El chuckled as she tucked into her own meal.

Cait was completely silent as they both dug into their meals. Whilst enjoying her own meal, El had been observing Cait. Despite being distracted by her food, El had, for several hours, supposed that Cait had something on her mind. Ever since they had left the Castle, Cait had been somewhat distant, as if her mind was trying to work something out. The fact that Cait was not a very subtle person made her all the easier to read. El, however, surmised that Cait would not say anything unless she was pushed. Once dinner was finished, El would try to ease Cait out her shell.

Once dinner was finished, El collected the plates and took them back to the kitchen. As she went, Cait fell back on the sofa and savoured the meal she had eaten. That was the best meal she had ever eaten, and she wanted to make sure that experience was imprinted in her memory forever.

El soon returned to her seat and made herself comfortable before probing Cait’s thoughts. “Cait, over the past few hours, I’ve got the feeling that you want to tell me something, but something is holding you back. If something is on my mind, you can tell me. You don’t need to be afraid to tell me things.” El asked, showing genuine concern as she spoke.

Cait looked at El with absolute shock; mainly because El had worked her out so easily. Why was El so perceptive? Cait needed to think quickly of what to say. “Well…yes, I suppose, I think.” After wrestling with her thoughts for a few moments, Cait made her decision. She would divulge El her story and risk everything. “I’ve just been thinking that, even though we’ve been on the road for a while now, you know almost nothin' about me. I was thinkin', maybe, you might like a little about the person you're travellin' with” Cait said, her hands fidgeting.

El sat back in her chair and frowned slightly, her face awash with interest. “I have thought that. It would be nice to know something about you.” she said sincerely.

Cait scoffed slightly. “You say that now. Not sure what you’ll think afterwards.” Cait’s demeanour was sarcastic, but her face betrayed a feeling of unease.

Cait took a deep breath and began. “It all starts with two wastes of humanity I suppose you could call my parents. I’m convinced I was a mistake, because I can’t remember a single day of my life that they treated me like their daughter. I was yelled at and beaten. Everything I did was wrong. I was nothin’ but a nuisance in their eyes. The whole time I was tellin’ myself that they had to love me, even if it was just the tiniest bit, because they never kicked me out.” Cait’s voice was already faltering as she spoke. Even she didn’t realise how hard this would be.

El leant forward marginally in her chair. “It’s alright. You don’t have to carry on if you don’t want to.”

Cait shook her head and shuddered slightly. “It’s okay. I can keep going.” Cait then took another deep breath and continued. “Then my eighteenth birthday arrived, and I finally found out why they kept me around. They slapped a shock collar around my neck and sold me to slavers... They didn’t even care enough about me to say goodbye...” Cait’s face became angrier as she tried to process what she was saying. “Eighteen years of sufferin’ through that shite and all I was worth to them was a pocketful of caps.”

El watched and listened to Cait intently. El's face was emotionless as she listened, but underneath she was consumed by a deep sadness. She had known that Cait’s life must have been difficult, but she not fully prepared for this. “My god. I’m…I’m so sorry, Cait.” She said earnestly.

“Thanks.” Cait said, feeling genuinely thankful that El had said that. “But there’s more to the story. It would easy to blame my charmin’ personality on my parents.” Cait then lowered her head in shame. “But they didn’t make me this way, I did... I was with those slavers for five years... Roughest five of my goddamn life. The things they made me do. The way they...they... _used_ me for their amusement... It sickens me to my stomach just thinkin’ about it.” Cait shuddered visibly as she spoke, her eyes already beginning to water; she looked to be on the brink of tears.

Cait just managed to keep it together as she continued. “But I bided my time and learned to use their own methods against them. Stealin’ a few caps out of a sleepin’ man’s pocket is a piece a’ cake…as long as you don’t get greedy.” Cait allowed a tiny smile to cross her lips.

“I can’t even imagine how you survived.” El said, herself trying not to break down.

“That makes two of us.” Cait said. “It took every ounce of patience I had, but after five years I had finally pocketed enough to buy my own way out a’ there... But instead of headin’ off to rebuild the shambles of my life, I gave into my rage and headed home. You can imagine the look on my parent’s faces after I kicked in their door... What you can’t imagine is how they looked after...after...after I emptied my gun into them.” Cait looked away, her face riddled with guilt.

El stared at Cait with a face of utter shock. Nothing could have prepared El for the thought that Cait would commit something as terrible as murdering ones parents. El did not condone murder, her past forbid her to do so. But after hearing what Cait had gone through, El thought otherwise. “You did what you had to do.” El eventually said.

Cait was glad that El had said that, but it wasn’t enough to quench her guilt. “Did I? When I close my eyes, all I can see is their faces twisted with fear. And then my mind starts wonderin’ and I start judgin’ myself. And it’s rippin’ me the fuck apart.” Cait then looked up at El and stared directly into her hazel eyes. “You think I do the shit I do and drink myself drunk because I’m a tough Irish girl? I do so I can forget and move on with my miserable life.”

Cait then returned to fidgeting and sitting uneasily on the sofa. “So, there you have it. The entire flawed package known as Cait stripped bare for your perusal.”

On the outside, El sat emotionless. However, deep down, El pitied Cait. El had come across desperate people in her life. But nothing as bad as Cait. How could somebody go through all that in their life and still come out fighting? El didn’t know if she could go through that and survive. But listening to Cait’s story made her think, for the first time, that there was hope for anyone. “I’m proud of you, Cait.” El said with a friendly smile.

It was now Cait’s turn to act surprised. After laying everything on the line and telling El her story, the last thing Cait expected was for El to be proud of her. “I knew I was takin’ a chance tellin’ you all this, but I never expect you to say that you were proud of me. I…I think I needed to hear that from you. Thank you.” Cait looked at El gave her happiest smile she had ever given since meeting her.

They sat staring at each other for a few moments before El got up from her chair was began walking towards her. Cait’s eyes followed her intently, not knowing what El was going to do. To Cait’s surprise, El sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

Cait would have instinctively flinched away from such a movement; but this was different. Cait needed, and wanted, El’s arm around her. For some reason, it made her feel safe. Against all her instincts, Cait leaned into El’s embrace and rested her head on El’s chest. El then rested her head on top of Cait’s. Cait had to admit, El’s boobs were almost like resting on a really comfortable pillow.

They both sat there for a few moments, both women just savouring the moment. Cait took a deep breath to savour the smell of the woman embracing her. El smelled very similar to the rest of the Commonwealth; a peculiar mix of sweat, dirt, blood, smoke, and body odour. However, there was something about El that made her unique. Whatever it was, Cait could only interpret that as meaning that she was safe.

Eventually, however, El soon raised her head and retracted her arm. Feeling somewhat sad that El had withdrawn her embrace, Cait also returned to her original position.

“Well, seeing as you told me your story, I suppose it’s only fair that I tell you mine.” El finally said.

“I would be nice to know somethin’ about you.” Cait gave a small smile, echoing what El had said earlier in the evening.

El nodded and sat back on the sofa, taking in a deep breath. “I have to say, my story isn’t as, shall we say, unique as yours. But here we go. I’m a vault dweller. I was in Vault 111 for a time. But before that, I had a pretty colourful career. Fresh out of high school, I joined the military and served all around the world. Then I was lawyer, with a family, a house, friends; everything I could ever ask for-.”

“Wait, that don’t make sense. How can you have done all that before you went into a vault?” Cait interrupted. She could have understood that El was a vault dweller. The vault suit certainly gave it away. but all this stuff before that just didn’t make sense. _“What the fuck was a lawyer?”_ Cait thought to herself.

El hesitated for a few minutes; she had expected this kind of response from Cait. Cait wasn’t stupid. “Are you familiar with The Great War, Cait?” El asked apprehensively.

Cait nodded but wasn’t entirely sure she knew the answer. “I think so. Is that why we live in this shithole?”

“Yes, well, that’s the answer. I did all that before the Great War.” El said

Cait put her hands up to interrupt El. “Wait, that would mean-.”

El nodded, “Yes, Cait, I’m over two hundred years old. When my family and I went into Vault 111, we were frozen. I only thawed out a couple of months ago.”

A million thoughts began buzzing around Cait’s head as El said those words. Before the bombs? It didn’t make sense. Nobody except ghouls could have been alive before the bombs. Why would El lie to her like this? “Do you think I’m that stupid?” Cait said, sounding vaguely sarcastic.

El’s face quickly turned to one of frustration. She was clearly offended by what Cait had said. “It’s the truth, Cait.”

Cait wasn’t convinced at all. She’d known enough liars in her time to know when to recognise one. “I don’t believe you.” Cait said unapologetically.

El’s frustration at Cait’s stubbornness was now almost palpable. El could have punched Cait she was so annoyed. “Fine, I’ll prove it!” El yelled. Instantly, El got up from the sofa and stomped towards her rucksack. Violently swiping the bag off the ground, El stuck her hand in and pulled out a small leather pouch. Stomping back and plonking herself on the sofa, El unbuttoned the pouch. Inside, El retrieved a small black and silver box with a strange cylinder jutting out of it. Alongside the box was a collection of faded black and white photographs. El flicked through the photographs and presented one to Cait. “There! Look!” El shouted.

Cait took the photo and closely examined it. It was somewhat faded, but the picture was still quite clear. Dominating the picture were two smiling individuals standing in a background surrounded by cheering crowds and huge celebrations. Cait immediately recognised the central individual as El. She was standing next to a tall man with dark slicked back hair. What drew Cait’s attention, however, was the beaming smile that El had on her face. Cait had seen El smile before, but this was different. This was smile of absolute happiness; as if they had everything they ever wanted in life.

El’s finger pointing at one of the photo’s features shocked Cait back to reality. “That’s a photograph of me and my husband at the three-hundred-year anniversary of the United States in Boston, 2076. Look at the banner; '4th July 2076'. Satisfied?” El asked, sounding exacerbated. 

Cait looked at the feature and accepted defeat. she couldn’t read any of the words, but El’s presentation of the photo was enough to persuade her. “I’m...I'm sorry.” Cait said in embarrassment.

At Cait’s apology El’s hardened frustrated face softened and she closed her eyes. “It’s...alright, Cait. Part of me didn’t think you would believe me. I just…find it…hard to hear someone call me a liar about what’s happened to me.” El said, wiping away a tear that was building in her eye.

“So, if you had a family before the war, where are they now?” Cait asked, bringing the conversation back to its start point.

El’s face sank as she spoke. “Whilst I was frozen, some people came into the vault and took my baby; Shaun. When my husband tried to resist, one of them shot him. Once I thawed out, I hunted then down; only to find out that my baby Shaun had been taken to the Institute.”

Cait’s mouth went slightly agape. “The Bogeyman of the Commonwealth took your baby?” she asked rhetorically.

El nodded and picked up another photo. This time, the photo had three individuals in it; two adults and a baby. El ran her fingers over the shape of the baby. “That’s why the Minutemen are building this teleporter you’ve heard so much about. I found a renegade Institute Scientist who, after jumping through various hoops, gave me instructions on how to teleport inside the Institute. That’s why we’re heading to Sanctuary tomorrow. I trust the man in charge of construction, but I want to see the progress for myself.”

“That’s a pretty amazin' story.” Cait said unintentionally. Why did she say that?

El, however, chuckled at Cait’s response. “Yes, I suppose it is. When the teleporter is complete, I can find Shaun. When I’ve found him, I’m going to burn the Institute to the fucking ground.”

“Well, when you do, I’m gonna be there with you.” Cait said, trying to sound commanding and reassuring at the same time.

El looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Cait it’s nice to have a friend like you. But I warn you, it will be dangerous.”

“Danger? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger.” Cait replied sarcastically.

El let out a small laugh and placed her hand on Cait’s. Cait’s eyes immediately dropped and she stared intently. El’s hand was on hers, like nothing was amiss. Cait was tense at first, but she eventually relaxed into it and savoured the warm feel of El’s flesh on hers. E’ls hands were soft; like nothing she had felt before. Only someone born before the bombs could have skin this soft. It all now made sense to Cait. El always looked like she was out of time; her skin was soft, she used words that Cait didn’t understand, she spoke differently, her skill with a gun was unlike anything Cait had seen. She was like something from another planet, or something out of one of Cait’s comic books.

Cait’s attention soon turned back to pile of photographs that littered the coffee table. “Why do you carry around all this stuff?”

El looked across to the camera and photographs and let out a sigh. “it’s special to me.” El picked up the camera and moved it around in her hands. “I always loved taking photos before the war. I found this camera in Concord; can’t remember where. The photos I found buried in the rubble of my old house. Most of them were ruined, but some survived.”

Cait gently took the camera from her hands and examined it. She had seen these things before, but never understood what they were. “How does it work?” Cait asked.

El’s face immediately lit up. “Well, the process of taking photographs is relatively easy. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late to go through the developing stage.” El took the camera back from Cait and put her eye into the viewfinder. “Hold still and smile.”

Cait’s unintentionally raised the corners of her lips slightly, giving off the impression of a smile. After a few seconds, the camera clicked and El lowered it. “There, all done.” El said enthusiastically.

El then held the camera out to Cait and gave a giddy smile. “Here, take one of me.

Cait took the camera apprehensively, still trying to work out this bizarre hobby that El seemed to enjoy so much. As she took the camera, El shuffled closer to Cait and instructed her how to use it. “Look through the viewfinder here, then, once you found your picture, press this button here.” El then sat back and gave a beaming smile.

Cait looked through the viewfinder and positioned the camera. After several seconds of trying to get as much of El in picture as possible, Cait finally pressed the shutter. The shutter clicked instantly and Cait lowered the camera, having barely any idea of what she had just done.

“There, your first picture.” El then took the camera from Cait’s hands. “Here, let’s take a couple together.” El said, shuffling closer to El.

As El shuffled closer, Cait was acutely aware of how close she was to her. As their bodies touched, Cait’s breath hitched and she glanced uneasily at El. El was blissfully unaware of Cait’s unease as she held the camera out in front of them. Cait’s breath hitched even further when El put her arm around her shoulders again, bringing her in closer.

“Smile.” El said, giving a warm smile while Cait gave a shy toothless one.

The camera clicked twice and El lowered it. “There. Now, you can call yourself a photographer. I would show you developing process, but I don’t think I have all the right materials here.’ El then let out a deep yawn. “It’s also getting quite late and we have another long journey tomorrow.” El said, placing the camera on the coffee table.

El stood up from the sofa and turned to Cait. “Look, I would love to stay up longer, but I really should go to bed.” El placed a hand on Cait’s shoulder and gave a friendly smile. “Goodnight Cait. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” Cait just managed to say as El walked back towards the kitchen.

“Sleep well.” El said from over her shoulder as she made way to the stairs.

Cait quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth before climbing into bed on a sofa. As she settled, and the house lights were turned off, Cait’s mind was awash with thoughts and feelings; happiness, sadness, confusion. Cait thought her head would explode. As she reminisced upon the evening, Cait’s mind centred on one small thing that El had said to her. El had called her a friend. Cait had never had friends before, at least none that didn’t betray her afterwards. But Cait had told El her story, and she didn’t mock her, chastise her, or throw her out; she comforted her. Furthermore, El had then told Cait her own story and showed her pictures of her past family. Nobody had ever done that for Cait. Maybe El _was_ her friend after all.

Blessed with this new information, Cait smiled. “Sleep well, El” Cait whispered out to El as the darkness enveloped her and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a long one.
> 
> Please leave a comment, and kudos, if you can. It really helps.
> 
> Also thank you so much for your support so far. It's so great to see that my little scribblings could have such a reaction. 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you all next chapter.


	5. The Long Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait seek Sanctuary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. Hope you are all safe. 
> 
> Please enjoy this next chapter. A little shorter than previous ones. But that is likely to change as we set up for greater things. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_“Cait, Cait! I know you’re out there! Come out wherever you are!” the gruff voice called._

_Cait listened intently at the voice but did everything she could to stay quiet as she hid in the dense undergrowth. This was the second time she had run away from home, and, this time, she was determined to make it. She couldn’t spend another day in that hellhole of a home._

_Sensing footsteps approaching, Cait ducked down and placed her hand over her mouth. If heard, or spotted, Cait didn’t know what horrors would be in store for her._

_“Cait! Why don’t you come home, and we can talk about this?” the voice called again._

_Cait held her breath and kept as still as she possibly could to keep quiet. If she could just stay quiet for a few minutes, she would be free._

_Eventually, the footsteps died away into the distance and, for the first time in her life, Cait believed her prayers had been answered. She was free. After the years of abuse and punishments; yellings, beatings, burns, she was free to make her own life. Cait raised her head from the undergrowth and looked around for where her life would take her next. As she scanned the horizon, Cait’s gaze fell on the glittering towers of Boston in the distance. If there was anywhere that Cait could disappear, it would be there._

_“There you are, you little rat!” the gruff voice called._

_The sound of the voice sent a shiver down her spin and she turned her head sharply to the voice’s source. As she turned, Cait glanced a large hand out of her peripheral vision that struck her violently around the side of her head. Cait barely had time to react before her vision went black and she plummeted limply to the ground._

* * *

_Cait awoke to find herself being dragged roughly by her leg along the ground. She was still in a daze from the blow to the head and her vision was blurry. She was also unable to fully open her left eye; it seemed unnaturally swollen from the smack across her face._

_However, as her impaired vision slowly began to focus, Cait realised that she was being dragged back home; back to the house of nightmares. She couldn’t go back there. She hated that place. She had to break free and run._

_“Let me go!” Cait screamed as she writhed around on the ground, trying desperately to find something to grab onto._

_“Shut the fuck up you little rat!” Cait’s father shouted, not even turning around to acknowledge Cait’s protest._

_“I said let me go! I hate you!” Cait shouted. With her free leg, Cait began to fiercely kick the hand that was grasped firmly around her other. If she kicked it enough, then, hopefully, he would drop her._

_Eventually, Cait’s strategy worked and her father released his grip. “Argh!” he cried as he clutched his beaten hand._

_Once free, Cait scrambled on the ground as she tried to find her feet. She only had one chance to run. With all the strength she could muster, Cait bolted from the ground and ran._

_But she was too slow. Before she could even get away, Cait was forcibly wrestled to the ground and she screamed loudly. “You little bitch!” her father grunted as he forced Cait into the dirt. Cait then screamed as she was violently pulled up by her hair and brought high enough that she could feel her father’s warm breath on the back of her neck. “I’ll show you what happens to little rats that run away.” he grunted menacingly in Cait’s ear._

_Before she could even comprehend those words, Cait was brutally throwed back down and she struggled to regain her senses. In that moment, a pain greater than anything she had ever known shot through her body as her father brutally stamped his heavy boot onto Cait’s leg._

_As she heard the bone crack, and the pain shoot up her leg, Cait let out a bloodcurdling scream. Tears streamed down Cait’s face as she cried and screamed herself horse. Before long, Cait was unable to scream anymore and she buried her face in the ground._

_Cait then felt the grip of a heavy hand on her shoulder and she was violently shoved onto her back. Her father was standing above her, a look of pure hatred on his face. He then used his same hand to grasp her shirt and pull Cait in close._

_“Let’s see you run away now!” she said menacingly, his evil eyes boring into Cait’s soul._

_Grunting loudly as she was thrown back to the ground, the last thing Cait saw was a large fist swing down and strike across the other side of her face. Cait's vision immediately went black as her head limply hit the hard ground._

* * *

Cait’s eyes flashed open and she shot up from where she slept. Her eyes darted around as she struggled to comprehend what had happened, and where she was. Eventually, Cait realised that she was, once again, safe in El’s home; lying on a comfortable sofa with a warm blanket over her. Trying to regain her breath, and not break down in tears, Cait hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top. She was panting heavily and shivering as a cold sweat ran down her face and body.

As Cait sat, she noticed that the living area was being illuminated by some lights. The lights of the living area were, however, still off. There was also a strange metallic clattering sound coming from the kitchen. It was as if someone was working in the kitchen. Cait turned her head to look behind and, to her surprise, found El standing over the stove; the top half of her vault suit tied round her slender waist. She was lightly humming a tune to herself and she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Cait was awake.

Cait turned her head back and she tried to comprehend the horrors she had witnessed in the night. Nightmares were an almost nightly occurrence in Cait’s world, but she never got used to them and they never seemed to go away. A cold shiver ran up Cait’s spine as she remembered the excruciating pain of having her leg broken.

Attempting to warm up, Cait rubbed her arms that were wrapped tightly around her legs. As her hands ran over her white porcelain skin, her fingers ran over the many pop marks that dotted her arms. Instantly, Cait realised with a heavy heart that she needed to shoot up. She didn’t want to – her bouts of coughing and vomiting had left her feeling very scared of what it was doing to her - but nothing else allowed her to forget. Cait however, couldn’t take it without El or her dog noticing. She needed to think quickly of a way to sneak outside without being noticed. 

_“Good morning, Cait.”_ a voice called from behind Cait.

Cait immediately darted around to find El standing over her with two plates in her hands. She had a friendly smile across her face, and she looked characteristically amazing for the morning. _“Shit!”_ Cait thought to herself. What was she going to do now?

Upon seeing Cait’s startled reaction, El’s smile dropped and she frowned. Cait didn’t look right; she was hunched up, shivering, sweating profusely, and her eyes looked like they had the fear of God in them. “Cait, are you alright? You’re dripping with sweat.” El said, placing the plates down on the table.

Cait tried franticly to compose herself and put on a brave face. “Yeah, I…I’m fine.” she stuttered.

El was not convinced in the slightest. “Are you sure? You’re shaking. Do you want to talk about-?”

“I’m fine!” Cait snapped, shaking wildly and fidgeting uncontrollably with her hands. She couldn’t make eye contact with El. If she did, El would work out that she was lying; El was certainly smart enough.

Unbeknownst to Cait, El could already tell that she wasn’t fine. El, however, knew when not to push something. “Okay. Okay. I’ll drop it.” El then pointed to one of the plates on the coffee table as she walked around to her chair. “There’s breakfast on the coffee table. Eat up, we have a long journey today.”

Cait glanced to her left and spied the plate of food sitting on the table. It did look very tasty, and, as if by magic, her stomach gave a loud grumble. Maybe eating breakfast would be enough of a distraction from the Psycho.

Apprehensively, Cait manoeuvred her legs out from under her blanket and collected the plate from the table. On the plate in front of her, a hot and sizzling Salisbury Steak sat on top of a perfectly fried omelette. Cait frowned and looked in closer, and, too her surprise, realised that the omelette was made of Mirelurk egg. “Where did you get hold of Mirelurk eggs?” Cait asked, looking across to El.

El looked up from her meal and swallowed a large forkful. “When you were out cold in the Castle, I went to clear out some of the Mirelurk nests that were still dotted about. While I was there, I thought that I would save some.” El said with a slightly smug smile on her face.

Cait devoured her meal in almost records time, humming contently as the delicious food satisfied her hunger. As she placed her plate back on the table, Cait wondered whether there was _anything_ that El couldn’t do; she could fight, talk, walk, flaunt, cook; she could do everything.

However, despite trying to keep her mind distracted, Cait couldn’t shake the irresistible urge to shoot up. Awkwardly, Cait did her best not to fidget too much as she sat quietly. Slowly running her fingers over the pop marks along her arms, Cait was just waiting for an opportunity.

As El finished her own breakfast, she got up from her chair and walked over to the chest of drawers behind. Retrieving a small cloth from the top drawer, El walked back towards Cait and presented it to her. “Here. Wipe yourself down. And get your gear together. We have a long journey today.” She then took Cait’s plate and returned to the kitchen.

Obediently taking the cloth from El’s hand, Cait wiped the sweat away from her face. Cait then stood up and quickly changed back into her leather corset. Groaning slightly as struggled to do up the corset’s buttons, Cait wondered if she had put on weight since meeting El. Clearly, El’s hearty meals were making her fat.

Once changed, Cait heard the patter of feet as El walked up the steps to her quarters. Sensing that the coast was clear, Cait darted to the sink and quickly brushed her teeth. Upon returning to the sofa, Cait knelt down in front of her rucksack and began assembling her gear. As she rummaged through her bag, her hand touched the syringe of Psycho and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Pulling the syringe out of the bag, Cait wondered if this was the opportunity. As El was upstairs, this was probably the only chance she would get. It would only take a few seconds.

 _“Are you ready, Cait?”_ El asked, approaching Cait from behind.

Cait immediately threw the Psycho back in her bag and darted around to find El fully packed and geared up. _“Shit!”_ Cait thought to herself. How long had she been contemplating about the Psycho? Now she would have to suffer through the cravings. “Urrr… Yeah. Just…give me a minute.” Cait stuttered, trying to compose herself. Keenly aware of El’s piercing eyes watching her, Cait quickly fastened her bag and collected her gear and jacket from the other end of the sofa. Sheepishly, Cait also collected her armour that had been gathering dust on the ground since El had bought it. “Alright, I’m ready.” Cait said aloofly.

El looked at the armour slung over Cait’s shoulder and smiled. Maybe that near-death experience had taught Cait to listen more often? “Well, if you’re ready, let’s head off.”

El took one step towards the door and stopped. Glancing back at the table, she doubled back on herself and retrieved her camera and photos. “I shouldn’t forget this.” El chuckled as she buttoned the items into the leather pouch and threw them into her bag.

Once packed, El sauntered to the door and gave a small whistle. At this command, Dogmeat, whom had sat quietly in his alcove, leapt up and trotted over to his master’s side. El gave him his head a scratch and he wagged his tail appreciatively. Opening the door, El turned back to Cait, “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Feigning a blushing smile, Cait adjusted items slung over her shoulders and followed El into Diamond City.

As El fastened the various locks on her front doors, Cait looked around at the Diamond City market. At this time of the morning, the numerous stall owners were just opening up for business and the place was still relatively quiet. With so few people around, Diamond City almost looked habitable.

Passing _Publick Occurrences_ , El and Cait saw Nat setting up her wooden box and setting down a large pile of papers ready to hawking. “Hey Nat. Where’s Piper this morning?”

“She headed out early, fishing for a new story to bring McDonough down.” Nat said as she stepped up onto her perch.

“Ha. Why am I not surprised?” El chuckled. “Well, tell her I said hi; and take care of yourself.”

“I could say the same to you.” Nat replied boisterously. 

Her mouth slightly agape, and raising her eyebrows, El jabbed a finger up at Nat. “Watch it, young lady.” El said with a playful smirk.

* * *

Diamond City was far behind them and El and Cait had begun their long trek Northwest to Sanctuary. The weather was glorious; bright blue skies and bright sunshine followed their every move. To top it off, a light breeze kept the environment just cool enough to prevent them from suffering from the heat.

Cait, however, was not finding the journey enjoyable at all. Ever since leaving Diamond City, Cait mind had been fixated on Psycho. She had been unable to shoot up the entire morning. El didn’t want to stop and she seemed completely impervious to fatigue. Cait, on the other hand, was already starting to wheeze by the time they crossed the river. By now, she was panting heavily and almost dragging her axe alongside. She needed to stop and get some energy.

The couple had just entered the streets of downtown Lexington when Cait inevitably snapped. She couldn’t take it anymore; she needed to find an excuse to shoot. “Hey El, can we stop for a bit?” Cait blurted out through heavy breaths.

“Urrr, yeah, sure. What do you need? More water? Food?” El asked, turning around and walking towards Cait.

Cait needed to think of something fast. “I…I…I gotta take a piss!” Cait said, a louder than she had anticipated.

El flinched slightly at Cait’s response. She understood the call of nature, but she hadn’t expected Cait to say it so loudly. “Okay. Take your time. We’ve made excellent progress so far. I’ll be right here.” El said, propping herself up onto the bonnet of a rusted abandoned car.

As Cait began walking off to find somewhere quiet, she heard El’s voice behind her. _“You can leave your stuff here if you want.”_ El said.

Cait panicked slightly as she turned around. “No, I want to bring it with me. There might be a…a… I just want to bring it in case there’s urrmm…. a…. a…. because I might need-.” Cait’s mind went completely blank as she stuttered; her eyes looking at the ground as she rambled.

“It’s fine,” El interrupted, “just don’t go too far.”

As Cait shuffled off gingerly, El let out a small snort. Cait seemed to ramble when she was flustered. In an odd way, it made her look quite adorable.

* * *

Cait’s sleuthing around went as well as she had expected. Here she was; leaning precariously against the wall of an abandoned building; looking down at the contents of her stomach. On the ground lay the grizzly remains of Cait’s breakfast, intermixed with ever larger droplets of blood.

The coughing and vomiting only seemed to be getting worse. The amount of blood leaving Cait’s body was only increasing. As she stared disgustedly at the consequences of her addiction, Cait wondered how much more of this she could take. With the amount of blood only increasing, Cait wondered if her next fit would be the last. _“It’s getting worse.”_ Cait thought to herself. _“How much more of this can I take._

Steadying herself, Cait wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and began working her way back to El. Hopefully, she wouldn’t comment on how long she had taken.

* * *

Cait found El where she had left her; sitting on the bonnet of a rusted car. She was lightly rustling Dogmeat’s fur and total oblivious as Cait walked down the dusty street.

As Cait approached, El heard her footsteps and glanced up. “Ah, you’re back. Hope you’re feeling relieved.” El said candidly. El hopped off the car bonnet and smiled at Cait, slightly adjusting her rucksack. “Alright, let’s carry on.” El said as she began walking again.

El had taken one step when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning around, El frowned and walked towards Cait. “Are you alright, Cait?” El asked concernedly.

“Urrr, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Cait stuttered, completely confused about what El was on about.

El gestured to Cait’s face. “You have some blood on your chin.”

Cait’s eyes widened in horror. What was she going to do? All of Cait’s sleuthing had been for nothing. El was going to work it all out soon. She needed to think of something quickly; if anything, to lessen the blow of what was to come. “Th-there was a-a-a feral ghoul in the building that I pissed in. I had to smoke it but must have got some of its blood on her chin.” Cait did her best convincing, but even she didn’t think it was enough.

El wasn’t convinced by Cait’s explanation; ghoul blood didn’t look that fresh. Cait’s eyes also gave away far more than she wanted; they had the look of someone deeply distressed. Whatever Cait had seen, it had been very traumatic. El, however, couldn’t probe Cait about it now; her first priority was reaching Sanctuary. Eventually, El looked away and collected her canteen from her rucksack. “Here, wash yourself down.” She said, handing the canteen to Cait.

Not quite believing that her ploy had worked, Cait took the canteen from El and poured some water on her hand. She then wiped the incriminating blood off her chin and handed the canteen back to El.

Placing the canteen back in her rucksack, El turned back around and continued walking. “Come on. We’re nearly there.” El said as she strode away.

Once again believing that she was safe, Cait sheepishly followed El on the long way home.

* * *

As El and Cait crossed the broken bridge over the river, and into Sanctuary, El held her breath. Since thawing out, El had never liked returning here. All it held for her were painful memories of happier times. Looking out at the empty carcasses of two-hundred-year-old houses, El was reminded of when this place was full of people.

“So, this is where you lived?” Cait suddenly asked as they slowly walked along the dust covered road.

“For a time.” El said unemotionally, too swept up in the memory of this place to say anything more.

Sanctuary had barely changed as El and Cait trudged their way up the cracked tarmac road. Houses from a by-gone era sat idly as clouds of dust blew through their empty windows and fractured roofs. Alongside them, other houses that did not withstand the remorseless flow of time lay in ruins. All around them, scorched yellow grass swayed aimlessly in the cool late afternoon breeze.

El looked around as they rounded the curve in the road, observing and reminiscing about the time before the bombs. Looking at the old children’s playground, El thought of all the days that she, Nate, and Shaun would go on family picnics. Tracing the route of the river wall with her eyes, El remembered all the long walks she would take with Nate on sunlit evenings. Watching the rusted chains of the swings blowing in the wind, El thought about all the days she would have spent there with Shaun; days that might never happen. With everything she saw as she walked through her old neighbourhood, El thought of all the things she would never do again with her family.

 _“Is that supposed to be there?”_ Cait asked as the road began to straighten again.

Shocked back to reality, El looked to where Cait was staring and she stopped still. Standing before her, like a castle on a hill, was El’s house. It was unmistakably El’s, but something about it was just _different_ ; it looked new. El looked on in utter astonishment; the roof was fixed, the walls were repainted, the windows had glass in them, and there seemed to be light coming the house. The last time El had been in Sanctuary, her house had been no different from all the other empty carcasses that lined the street. How could this be?

“El, are you alright?” Cait asked, trying to get El’s attention.

“I…I don’t know. It’s just…that…that’s…my house. But the last time I was here it just looked like all the others. I…I don’t understand.” El said, utterly confused by it all.

“Maybe they know somethin’ about it?” Cait said, gesturing to a group of individuals gathered around a small work area.

El reluctantly turned her gaze away from the house and towards where Cait was gesturing. Across the road, and slightly further along the street, stood a solitary pylon type structure jutting up from the ground. At its base stood a small band of individuals, each of them working feverishly on their allocated tasks.

At the edge of the group, a lone individual with a black quiff in his hair stood examining a collection of creased pieces of paper. On each page there were crude scribblings of diagrams and equations. El immediately recognised the papers as the instructions that Brian Virgil had given her and the individual holding them as Sturges. Upon recognising someone who might know something, El gave a small smile and walked off towards the work area.

As El and Cait approached, Sturges noticed their arrival and turned to face them. “Ma’am, you’re here. Preston sent word from the Castle that you were coming.” he said, giving a charming smile.

“Hi Sturges.” El said, still too confused to process what was going on. “How, how did you do this?” she asked, looking back to her house.

“Oh, don’t thank us for that. Thank that tin can of yours. He’s been beavering away, day and night, on that house. Me and the guys just some of the heavy lifting. You can, however, thank us for this.” Sturges said, turning to the pylon structure behind them.

Sturges lead El and Cait to the work area and showed them the progress that had been made on the teleporter. As they approached, the minutemen crew all turned to greet them. _“Ma’am.”_ almost all of them said simultaneously. El nodded to them and looked at the tower. From what El remembered from the plans given to her by Virgil, the teleporter’s central structure was split into three towers. So far, one was completed, and another was about a third of way finished. It was progress, but not much.

“Building the structure is the easy part so far. The real struggle has been to get all the electrical parts together. I hate to say it, but I don’t think it is going to be finished anytime soon.” Sturges said honestly.

El sighed heavily but understood. “That’s okay, I understand that it is hard work. Also, the instructions I gave you weren’t the easiest to read.

Throughout this entire exchange, Cait had been standing quietly behind El, trying not to fidget too much. Since El had told her a lot more about herself, Cait knew much more about what they were talking about. However, she was still struggling to keep up. As she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her foot caught the edge of an old tin can; sending it rolling back down the road.

Hearing the sound, El turned to Cait. “Oh, Sturges, this is my friend, Cait. We’ve been travelling together for a while.” El said with a friendly smile.

Sturges gave a charming nod to Cait. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Any friend of this lady here is a friend of mine.” He said with a charismatic smile, gesturing to El as he spoke.

Cait remained silent but gave a quick toothless smile and nodded in return. The primary thought flowing through her mind was the fact that El had called her a friend again. Glancing back to El, Cait looked down to hide the brightening redness in her cheeks.

“Why don’t you take a load off and go and check out your house? It’s getting late in the day and it looks like it might rain tonight.” Sturges said to El.

Turning back to her house, and the dark ominous clouds in the distance, El smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Sturges.”

Opening the pristine front door, El and Cait seemed to walk back in time. The inside of the house looked almost exactly the way El had left it over two hundred years ago. The living area was the same, the kitchen was the same, the furniture was the same, everything was the same. If El wasn’t so confused about the entire situation, she would have broken down in tears.

As they walked through the narrow hall area, they heard a low hum of an engine approach from the corridor leading to the bathroom and bedrooms. Soon, a round metallic ball with three protruding eye stalks and several robotic tentacles came levitating around the corner. Upon seeing El, the metallic ball’s robotic eyes widened, and he levitated even higher than before. “Good evening, Mum! It is so good to see that you have returned! Please forgive me for seeming forward, but, as you can see, I have made some improvements to the house since your last visit.”

“Hi Codsworth. I…I…I don’t know what to say. It’s…incredible.” El said, completely dumbfounded.

“No words are necessary, Mum. This is not just cosmetic, I have put the house through a complete overhaul. Through some clever trickery, the house is fully hooked up to water and electricity, and a completely new plumbing system has also been installed to ensure perfect domestic hygiene. I also took the liberty of shoring up the foundations of the house and installing proper soundproofing.” Codsworth said in his characteristically chirpy English butler voice.

El then turned to the kitchen area and gestured toward the sink. “You mean that-?”

“Of course, mum. Both hot and cold running water are available to you.” Codsworth interrupted, sounding delighted with himself.

El, however, just couldn’t work it out. “But…how?” she asked.

“Well, using the brilliant intellect of my General Atomics programming, I, with some help from the minutemen outside, was able to hook up the house up to the water and electrical systems of Vault 111. With all that water, electricity, and provisions going unused, I thought that I would utilise it.” Codsworth said.

El looked around, completely bedazzled by everything. For the first time in two hundred years, El believed that she had come home.

“May I get you a drink, Mum? You must be parched after your long journey.” Codsworth enquired, bringing El’s attention back to Earth.

“Yes, thank you, Codsworth.” El said happily. “I’ll have a Nuka Cola if there are any available.”

“Certainly, mum.” Cosdworth said, floating away to the kitchen.

As Cosdsworth floated away, El made her way down the corridor towards the bedrooms. On her way, she peered into the bathroom and was stunned. Nothing could have prepared El for the sight of a fully furnished bathroom in the middle of an post-apocalyptic wasteland. This bathroom, however, was somewhat different; the units were the same, but they were changed around. El raised her eyebrows as she also noticed a bathtub dominating the bathroom’s end wall. El couldn’t remember owning a bathtub before the war. “Hey, Codsworth!” El called. “Where did this bathtub come from?”

“Well, in my humble opinion, no home of tomorrow is complete without a fully functioning bathtub. As one was not in operation at the time of my activation, I decided to adapt the bathroom to suit my ends.” Codsworth called back from the kitchen.

Testing the waters, El walked into the bathroom and approached the toilet. Codsworth made all these grand claims, but El needed to see proof. Looking inside, El was stunned to find that there was water in the bowl. Apprehensively pushing the button, El almost fell over when she saw the toilet flushed in front of her. Accepting that Codsworth was telling the truth, El laughed wildly and quickly exited the bathroom.

Continuing her journey, El soon reached her room and smiled happily; everything was as it was. El slowly walked inside and ran her hand along her bed; humming contentedly as her hand touched the smooth material. Sitting on the bed, El threw all caution to the wind and fell back on the mattress. Closing her eyes, El could have fallen asleep right there on the that mattress. However, as El’s hand ran over what would have been Nate’s side of the bed, she opened her eyes and quickly stood back up. Eyeing the chest of drawers in front of her, El walked over and began opening them up. El let a beaming smile cross her lips as she saw that the drawers were full of clean clothes. It was like nothing had changed in two hundred years.

A thought suddenly crossed El’s mind and she quickly turned to the room across from hers; Shaun’s room. Closing the drawers, El walked across the corridor and stood in the doorway. The room was in darkness, with only the last rays of sunlight illuminating the area. Flicking the light switch, El was shocked to find, save for one solitary lightbulb, the room was completely empty. Slowly walking through the room, El ran her hand along the room’s walls and sighed heavily. Looking at where Shaun’s crib was, El thought of where Shaun might be; if he was safe; if he knew where she was; if he missed her.

Shaking the growing tears away from her eyes, El gathered herself and took a deep breath. Now she was home, she would complete the teleporter, save Shaun, and burn the Institute to the ground.

Looking back to the door, El found Codsowrth levitating in the doorway. “Mum, I just wanted to tell you that your drink is on the counter for you.”

“Thank you, Codsworth.” El said. 

* * *

Whilst El made her way through the house, Cait simply stood and gazed around in awe at what she saw. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Cait allowed the sweet smell of a clean and fresh home to flow through her nostrils. Cait thought she had landed on another planet; or disappeared into the pages of her beloved comic books. _“So, this was what life was like before the bombs?”_ Cait wondered to herself.

Turning around, Cait almost jumped out of her skin as she found the robot’s bulbous spherical head levitating next to her. “Holy shit!” Cait shouted. "How the fuck did you get there so fast?”

“Apologies.” Codsworth said politely. “I was just hoping to enquire after your name.”

Owing to her inherent suspicion on synths and robots, Cait wasn’t going to give too much away. “Cait.” she said curtly.

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Cait.” Codswroth bowed one of his eye stalks to imitate a greeting. “May I offer you a drink?”

“I’ll have a beer.” Cait replied unemotionally. The robot seemed to mean well, but Cait wasn’t going to let her guard down for anyone.

“Certainly, Miss Cait.” Codsworth said as he levitated off to the kitchen.

Before long, an ice-cold beer was placed on the kitchen counter and Cait took a seat on one of the bar stools located in front of her. Taking a sip, Cait closed her eyes and moaned in almost orgasmic pleasure as the cold liquid passed down her throat. Cait had drunk thousands of beers in her life. But an ice-cold one was a whole new experience. She could definitely get used to this.

Cait had just taken a second sip when El returned and took a seat next to Cait. Retrieving her Nuka Cola, El took a gulp and let out a moan almost exactly the same as Cait’s. Ice-cold drinks clearly had the same effect on El.

“Codsworth, why is Shaun’s room empty?” El asked as she placed her Nuka Cola back on the counter.

“The general consensus from the minutemen was that you should be in charge of Shaun’s room.” Codsworth said.

Upon hearing this, El smiled and let a small blush cross her cheeks. “That’s, that’s really thoughtful, thank you."

“So, how long do you plan on staying, Mum?” Codsworth asked as he divvied up pots and pans.

“For the foreseeable future, at least. I need to give the guys out there all the help they can get.” El said, taking a large gulp of her Nuka Cola.

“Splendid, Mum. Shall I prepare your room and a meal for tonight?” One of Codsworth’s eye stalks asked.

El smiled, “That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Codsworth.”

As El fraternised with the tin can, Cait frowned. Had she completely forgotten that Cait existed? “Hey, where am I supposed to sleep?” Cait blurted, not caring at all about manners.

El looked at Cait and gave a look of complete embarrassment. She had been so caught up in madness of it all that she had completely forgotten Cait. "Codsworth, do we, by any chance, have a spare bed that Cait can sleep in?” El asked, turning to Codsworth.

“I’m sure that another bed could be acquired if you asked the minutemen outside.” Codsworth replied as he began gathering ingredients for their evening meal.

El nodded. “Okay, I’ll go and talk to them in a bit.” She said, getting up from her stool. Wondering to the stack of shelves next to the front door, El began examining the various items that covered their surface. As her hand ran along the selves, she noticed one item; a framed picture. Collecting it in her hands, El couldn’t work out how she had missed it in her scavenging. It was a picture of her, Nate, and two others, standing in front of a large clocktower. El smiled as she ran her fingers over the surface of the glass plate.

 _“What’s that picture of?”_ El looked up to find Cait, once again, standing beside her.

El smiled and moved the picture closer to Cait. “About a year after I married my husband, my parents took us on a holiday to Britain. My mother was British, so made it her mission to make sure I never forgot my ancestral homeland. That’s why there’s all those books of British literature on the shelf.” El chuckled, “This was all of us in front of Big Ben.”

Despite having no idea of what any of these places were, Cait examined the picture. She was struck by how happy everyone looked; especially El. “You look really happy.” she said, feeling that she should say something.

“Yes, I suppose I do.” El chuckled.

“Do you know where your parents are now?” Cait asked, probing El a little further. El had told Cait a lot about herself. She had, however, withheld much about her heritage.

“I…I don’t know.” El stuttered, hugging the picture to her chest. In all the time since thawing out, El had never once thought about her parents. Fighting away new waves of tears, El took several deep breaths and closed her eyes.

Cait bowed her head slightly. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything.

However, composing herself, El exhaled louder and gave a friendly smile as she placed the picture back on the shelf. Turning back around, El frowned as her gaze fell on the television set across the room.

“Hey, Codsworth.” El called. “Does the TV work?”

“Of course, Mum. No terrestrial channels, I’m afraid. But there is a wide selection of video holotapes in the cabinet next to it.” Codsworth replied.

A mischievous smile suddenly crossed El’s lips and she turned to look at Cait. “Cait, how do you fancy watching a movie tonight?”

* * *

El had seen this movie hundreds of times. It was the standard format where the Silver Shroud rambled on about truth and justice as he fought his way out of the clutches of evil in a blaze of glory. El wasn’t really paying attention to the movie; her main attention was on Cait.

Cait was the complete opposite of El. As El lounged on the sofa, Cait sat on the floor in front with her legs hugged tightly to her chest; her eyes utterly transfixed on the screen. With every fight, explosion, and bad pun, Cait’s excitement only intensified.

As Cait watched the movie, El observed her intently. El had never seen this before; Cait showing genuine excitement. Cait looked like a giddy child seeing the next instalment of a Saturday matinee. Owing to her past, El surmised that watching a movie was a whole new experience for Cait. Assuming that this was the case, El let a loving smile cross her lips.

Characteristically, the Sliver Shroud defeated the main villain and saved the city from destruction; as was expected. As the credits rolled, El examined Cait once again. Cait’s expression was unchanged; save for her mouth which was slightly agape. “What did you think then?” El eventually asked, a friendly smile plastered across her lips.

“It was awesome!” Cait shouted, her face beaming with excitement. “Did people really do this all the time before the bombs?”

“Well, not all the time.” El laughed. “But going to the movies was always an easy way to escape the world for a couple of hours.”

Cait sat for several more minutes, properly processing El’s words. Escaping the world; how Cait longed to do that. For years, she had dreamt of disappearing into the pages of comic books and never come out. Now, with this television, she finally had the means to do so. Eventually, however, Cait shook herself out of her thoughts and looked up at El. “Can we watch another?” Cait asked, sounding almost childlike.

El looked up at the clock and bit her lip. “Maybe not tonight. It’s quite late now, and we’ve had a really long journey. Perhaps another day?” El said.

Cait nodded, slightly upset that she would have to stay in this world a little longer.

El then stood up from the sofa and placed a friendly hand on Cait’s shoulder. “Well, goodnight Cait. Don’t worry about the lights; Codsworth will turn them off. You know where the bathroom is?”

Cait nodded. “Goodnght.” she said, giving a gracious smile.

As El withdrew to her chambers, Cait hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the now blank television screen. As she stared at her reflection, Cait imagined a world where the bombs had never fell; where the world was lush and happy; where people could disappear into different worlds for periods of time and forget everything. Wherever this world was, Cait wished she was there; with El standing at her side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that.
> 
> I got the idea of Codsworth repairing El's house from a Fallout 4 fanfic called 'My Sunshine.' Unfortunately, the fic is not on AO3 anymore, but I still remember it pretty well.
> 
> Also, El's maternal ancestry will probably give you a good sense of where I am from. Thought that I had to throw that in.
> 
> Please leave kudos and a comment if you can. It really helps. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all your support!
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you all on the next chapter.


	6. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait's secrets begin to creep up on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I hope you are all well and keeping safe. 
> 
> Please enjoy this new chapter. 
> 
> The chapter may be distressing, but it is nonetheless important.

_At last, she was here. After five hateful years of pain and misery, she was finally home. The house was exactly the same as when she had left; run down and rotten to the core. But Cait didn’t care how it looked, her main concern was what was inside._

_In one hand, she held her shotgun; the weapon that would protect her from this day forward. In the other, she held a syringe of Psycho; her new friend that both built her up and knocked her down._

_Cait took a deep breath and positioned the syringe at the top of her forearm and pushed the needle in. As the dark psychedelic liquid coursed through her body, Cait sighed contentedly. In the darkest days of her time as a slave, this was the only thing that helped her survive. Today, however, it would help her get the revenge she had been planning for five years._

_As the drugs coursed through her body, an unquenchable feeling of anger built up inside her and she let out a low growl. She was ready to get her revenge._

_Slowly stomping up the dirt path to the house, Cait raised her leg and, with all the strength she had, kicked the front door clean off its hinges. As the door cascaded to the ground, Cait marched inside and readied her shotgun. “I’m home!” Cait said menacingly._

_The two individuals in the house looked at Cait in utter shock. Cait’s forceful entry had taken them completely by surprise and they simultaneously stood up from their chairs. “C-Cait?” the male individual said._

_“That’s right!” Cait shouted, “I spent five years waitin’ for this moment. Five years of bein’ beaten, shocked, raped, and chained; just waitin’ for the day that I could come back here and give you what you deserved.” Cait did not attempt to hide the hate in her voice. This hatred had been building since she was born._

_The female individual took a step forward with her hands up, attempting to approach Cait, “Cait, why don’t you just put the gun down and we can talk about this.”_

_Cait laughed wickedly, but her anger only grew. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Drop my gun so you can give me the belt again. Well, I’m done playin’ your games!” she shouted._

_The male then gave his signature evil smile that Cait hated so much. “Come on, Cait. You would do anytin’ to your own parents?” she said through that evil smile._

_Suddenly, Cait’s father flew backwards as Cait fired off two shogun rounds into his shoulder. As he hit the floor, her mother let out a bloodcurdling scream as she crawled towards him and cradled his head._

_With the sound of the gunshots still reverberating in her ears, Cait slowly walked towards them and reloaded her gun. Cait did not even notice that her hands were shaking._

_As Cait approached, her parents looked up at her, their faces twisted with uncontrollable fear. Their terrified faces only fuelled Cait’s anger. “No, Cait, please don’t do this!” her mother cried as she cradled Cait’s dying father in her hands, “What do you want?”_

_Cait’s eyes widened in stunned loathing. As they both lay before her, the product of their own abuse standing over them, they had the balls to ask what Cait wanted. In eighteen years of pain and misery, never once had they asked her that. How dare they ask it now as death stared at them in the face. “What do I want? What do I want? I want my fuckin’ life back!” Cait screamed as she pulled the trigger again._

_It was all over in a second. With another blast from Cait’s shotgun, the bodies of her parents fell limply and unmoving on the ground. Taking a deep breath, Cait reloaded her shotgun again. Her hands were shaking even more than before. Cait could only interpret that as the drugs wearing off._

_With clearer vision, Cait now walked over to the parent’s corpses and looked down at them. Staring into their unseeing eyes, Cait was struck by how their looks of unbridled fear remained on their faces. It was like Cait’s execution had frozen them in time._

_It was then that it all began to sink in. For five years, all she had dreamt about was her revenge. When she was whipped, she dreamt about it. When she was chained in dark and damp cell for weeks on end, she dreamt about it. When her slavers would leave her shock collar on for hours on end, she dreamt about it. When she was being brutally raped for sport, she dreamt about it. But now, as she stood over the bodies, in the silent walls of her old home, Cait felt absolutely nothing._

_Tears welled up in her eyes as everything hit home in Cait’s mind and she dropped to her knees, sobbing. She should never have come here. Killing her parents had not ended her pain; it had only brought unyielding waves of guilt. Now, she was truly alone._

_Looking down, Cait clutched her shogun tightly and positioned it directly under her chin. With her only dream in life shot down in front of her, Cait knew there was nothing left to live for. “Now, no-one will miss me.” Cait thought to herself as she squeezed the trigger._

_A loud bang erupted underneath Cait’s chin and her vision went black._

* * *

Cait gasped loudly as her eyes flashed open and she shot up in her bed. Shaking wildly, Cait panted cripplingly on her bed as tears began welling up in her eyes. Outside, loud rumbles of thunder sent shivers down Cait’s spine and large stabs of lightning flashed in her wet eyes.

Cait hugged her knees to her chest as she processed what had just happened. Nightmares were never easy for Cait; but she had, through years of experience, learned what to expect from them. But this one was different; this was _the_ nightmare; the nightmare that, no matter how much she tried, she could not accustom herself to. Killing her parents had left Cait with an unshakable feeling of guilt that had stayed with her ever since. Every time she remembered that day, feelings of shame and self-loathing ate Cait up until she didn’t even know who she was anymore. 

Cait did not even try to talk herself out of it; she needed to shoot up. But she couldn’t do it here; in El’s house; in her son’s old room. She needed to get outside; weather be damned. Frantically, she reached her trembling hand down from her bed and into her rucksack, pulling out her vial of Psycho. Once she had retrieved her liquid crutch, Cait scrambled off her bed and made for the door.

She had only made it one step when her feet stumbled on something and she fell abruptly to the floor. Groaning as she propped herself up on her hands and knees, Cait looked back to find her boots lying knocked over on the carpet. Normally, Cait would have put in the effort of tying her boots before skulking away to shoot up. But, today, she couldn’t, she needed this fix _now_.

Sliding the bedroom door open as quietly as she could, Cait skulked down the corridor and through the living area until she reached the front door. However, no matter how many times she tried turning the handle, her hands appeared to slip. Cait’s hands were so covered with perspiration that, no matter how hard she tried, the handle would not budge. Eventually, wrapping her arm around the handle, Cait twisted and the door gave way.

Cait looked out at Sanctuary and her eyes widened in mild fear. The rain was scything down in front of her and the wind howled through the carcases of the empty houses. Cait didn’t want to go out in this weather; in a place that she was still unfamiliar with. But, in order to forget, she had to risk it. Holding her breath, Cait ran out into the night.

As the rain lashed down around her, Cait hid herself behind the house across the road from El’s. She had backed herself up against the outer wall; with just enough exterior roof to shield her from the rain. With the needle prepared, Cait positioned it at the base of her forearm and pushed it inside. With the dark liquid entering her body, Cait sighed and closed her eyes; resting her head against the wall.

But nothing happened. There was no high, no warm feeling of release, there was only nothing. Cait opened her eyes and looked down at her arm, completely bemused. The needle wasn’t broken; it was working fine. Why had it not worked? Deciding that the dose had just been a dud, Cait jabbed the needle in again and, once more, closed her eyes.

But, again, nothing happened and Cait’s mind began to spiral. Why was this this stuff not working? She did everything right. Maybe, after so many years, she had finally developed a resistance to it. What was she going to do now; find a new drug? No, she couldn’t put her body through another addiction; one was bad enough. With panicked tears building up in her eyes, Cait looked down at the syringe in her arm. She didn’t like where this was going; it didn’t seem right; Psycho had always worked. Apprehensively, Cait closed her eyes and injected the needle for an unprecedented third time.

Relief instantly coursed through Cait’s body and she let out a deeply contented sigh. At last, she was safe. She knew the drug would work eventually. Now, the painful memories of her past began to subside, and her mind was left blank.

Suddenly, Cait’s lungs began to burn painfully and she let out a spontaneous gag. Catching her breath, Cait placed her hand over her mouth and felt the taste of blood. Cait immediately knew what was coming; this was not going to be pleasant. Before she could even react, Cait was struck down by a hacking cough that left her completely unable to breathe. With one hand over her mouth, and the other on her burning chest, Cait staggered blindly through the rain towards the old playground.

Eventually, finding support on the wet and rusted frame of the swings, Cait painfully coughed up large mouthfuls of blood and phlegm onto the ground. With every flash of lightning, the wet grass was illuminated a terrifying shade of red. Unable to even breathe, tears streamed down Cait’s face as she coughed up ever larger quantities of blood. “Help!” Cait shouted breathlessly.

As the coughing only seemed to get worse, Cait started to panic. If she didn’t get help, she would die out here. She needed to get back to El’s house, and fast. Pushing herself off the swing frame, Cait turned around and attempted to stagger her way back to El’s house. But, as soon as Cait set off, she found herself in another problem. Through a mixture of the weather, her unfamiliarity with the area, and her debilitating coughing, Cait had gotten herself lost.

With a terrifying sense of panic setting in, Cait began to run anywhere she could. As she cried breathlessly, Cait wondered if she would ever make it back. Cait was so preoccupied with this predicament that she wasn’t looking where she was going.

Suddenly, something on the ground caught the end of Cait's foot and she fell face first on the ground. Crashing unceremoniously into the dirt, a tremendous pain erupted in Cait’s head as it struck a hard object protruding from the earth. Wincing painfully, Cait propped herself up on her hands and knees and, through continued coughing, nursed her aching forehead. Blood began to run down her face as Cait felt a deep cut just above her left eyebrow.

Eventually, Cait coughed up her last mouthful of blood and she was finally able to breathe freely. Panting heavily, Cait sobbed as she tried to contemplate what had just happened. She should never have taken three doses. Why would she do something so stupid? With her breath slowly returning to normal, Cait wiped the blood and rain from her face and she gradually got back to her feet.

Cait had barely made it to her feet when the same burning sensation in her lungs erupted deep in her stomach. Stumbling back to the hands and knees, Cait gritted her teeth as she awaited what was inevitably coming. Pretty soon, as if by déjà vu, the burning sensation ascended Cait’s body and she began to vomit uncontrollably. Using all her strength to stay upright, Cait retched loudly as she expelled a grizzly mixture of digested food, bile, and blood. Cait felt as if her entire body was on fire; every paw on her body seared as the cold rain scolded her burning skin. For what felt like an age, Cait retched and vomited ever greater amounts of bile and blood as she writhed on the ground. “Someone, please help!” Cait shouted breathlessly again, feebly wishing for this night to end.

Finally, in a shocking crescendo of the night’s events, Cait gave one last dying retch before she vomited out a heavy stream of pure blood. Illuminated by flashes of lightning, Cait’s eyes widened as the ground beneath her was stained bright red. In all her years of taking Psycho, she had never experienced this before. With waves of blood staining the ground and her face and body, Cait cried loudly as her body burned.

After, what seemed like, hours of agony, Cait’s stomach ran out of material to expel and the burning started to dissipate. Wheezing through her burning lungs, Cait was trying with all her remaining strength to stay on her hands and knees. But, with every passing second, she could feel herself growing faint.

With her vision darkening around her, Cait’s limbs mercifully gave way and she slumped limply onto the cold, rain soaked, earth. As Cait fell into unconsciousness, the last thing she felt was a warm liquid emanate from her crotch and slowly trickle down between her legs. 

* * *

El woke that morning from she believed was the best night sleep she had had in over two-hundred years. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, El dopily looked around her pristine room and let out a happy sigh. It felt so good to wake up in soft clean bed after so long.

Manoeuvring herself to the side of the bed, El collected her PipPad from the bedside table and checked the time; 8:23am. Whilst she would have loved to sleep longer, El felt that she had to get up.

Climbing out of bed, El walked over to the window and peeped through the curtains. To El’s delight, the weather had cleared from the night before and the clouds had parted. The ground was still somewhat damp, but the rising sun was already beginning to dry it out. Suddenly, El wondered if Cait was awake and whether she had enjoyed her time in a proper bed. Maybe, if she was awake, then Codsworth could cook them both a hearty breakfast.

El turned around from the window and headed for the door. Sliding it open, El was surprised to find that the door to Cait’s was also open. As the room had been unoccupied, El had kindly let Cait sleep there; a decision that had deeply embarrassed Cait and made her virtually silent through the entirety of last night’s dinner. Looking into the room, El saw that the covers had been pushed back and the mattress left exposed. Perhaps, Cait was already awake and waiting for El in the living area.

El had just turned to the corridor when something caught her eye. Looking back, El noticed that Cait’s rucksack was open and various items were strewn carelessly on the floor. This was an unusual sight for El. Ever since knowing her, El had noted that Cait was very conscious of keeping her things sealed away in her rucksack. Even if she was in her room, her unfamiliarity with El’s home would have made her very conscious of losing her possessions. Cait was a deeply predictable person for someone as perceptive as El.

Armed with this new suspicion, El made her way down the corridor. Upon entering the living area, she found Codsworth quietly floating through the kitchen, delivering a bowl of food to a highly expectant Dogmeat. Noticing her arrival, Codsworth moved one of his eye stalks in El’s direction. “Good morning, Mum! I hope you slept pleasantly. Might I interest you in some breakfast?” he asked chirpily.

El smiled as her stomach let out a low rumble. She looked around the living area, but Cait was nowhere to be seen. “Yes, I did, thank you Codsworth. Have you seen Cait at all this morning?” El asked. 

“I’m afraid not, Mum. Her door was open when I came out of low power mode.” Codsworth said as he collected different items around the kitchen.

El frowned and scrunched her face in thought. Something didn’t make sense. Whilst Cait was the sort of person who needed space every so often, she would not leave her bag open and unattended before heading out into an unfamiliar place. Unless it was for something urgent. “Okay, well, I’m going to go and see if she is outside somewhere. Would you mind holding off on the breakfast until I get back?” El said as she collected her boots from beside the front door.

“Of course, Mum. I should also say that when I came out of low power mode this morning, I found that the front door had been left slightly ajar. I wonder if that has something to do with this conundrum?” Codsworth asked, sensing concern in El’s thoughts.

Lacing up her boots and throwing her coat on, El thought about Codsworth’s words. Despite it being a stormy night, El had not heard anyone else come into the house. And, even if they did have intruders, Dogmeat probably would have heard them. Something didn’t add up. “Hmm, I don’t know.” With her head now full of answerless questions, El opened the front door and headed outside.

* * *

The weather outside had the makings of something glorious. The thunderous clouds that had covered the sky the previous night had cleared away and all that was left was endless blue. With this blue sky, the steadily rising sun warmed El’s skin as she stepped outside. Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, El basked in the fresh clean air of Sanctuary. If this had been another time, every house would have had happy people playing games and cooking barbecues until it was dark.

Opening them again, however, El only saw dead yellow grass and the gnarled husks of empty houses. Shaking away shadows of the past, El headed off down the road in search of her illusive friend. 

El immediately turned left and headed towards where the Minutemen were camped. Since coming to Sanctuary, the Minutemen crew had established a small encampment in one of the old houses. Whilst it wasn’t on the same level as Codsworth’s work, they had done a pretty good job of making the building habitable.

Upon entering the building, El was simultaneously greeted by the Minutemen crew as they prepared for the day’s work. “Morning guys. Have any of you seen Cait about this morning?” El asked as she greeted the crew.

The crew looked at each other in equal puzzlement. “I’m afraid not, ma’am.” one of the Minutemen said. “Has she gone missing?”

El thought for a few moments, unsure herself about what was going on. “I don’t know. She wasn’t in the house this morning.”

“Would you like us to help you find her?” another of the Minutemen asked.

Despite being heartened by the gesture, El shook her head and held up her hand. “No, please don’t trouble yourselves. I’m probably just overthinking things. Well, I’ll probably see you around at some point.” El said as she turned her exit the camp.

The Minutemen crew simultaneously wished her a farewell and El continued her journey. Turning left again, El walked to the end of the road and peered around the empty houses; there was nothing. At this point, concern was building in El’s mind. Ever since she had met her, whilst she would never admit it, Cait had rarely strayed far from El’s side. So, save for some odd suspicions that El had, it was deeply unusual for Cait to run off like this. El didn’t want to believe her suspicions, but, in this situation, she couldn’t shake them.

Reaching the riverbank, El began walking along the old stone path and reminisced about old times. How many sunlit evenings did El and Nate spend walking along this same path before the bombs? Looking over the wall, El was glad to find nothing but rock and debris from the surrounding area.

As she came closer to the Sanctuary bridge, El’s vision turned to the old playground. Owing the openness of the playground area, El was able to see that there was not much of importance around here. By this point, El was wondering whether she would ever find Cait. Cait was not the sort of person to run off with nothing unless she had something urgent on her mind. None of this made sense.

Suddenly, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention and she turned back towards the playground. Stopping in her tracks, El squinted and could just make out an odd shape in the yellow grass. It didn’t look like the other debris that was strewn about. It looked like an animal.

El slowly walked towards the peculiar shape in the grass; the shape gradually gathering form as she got closer. As she got closer, El was able to make out the shape’s various limbs sprawled out on the ground; it looked like a human body. As these features came into view, worrying thoughts began to cross El’s mind. Whatever they were, she didn’t want to believe them.

It was only when she saw an unruly mop of flaming red hair did El suddenly realise what she was staring at. “Cait?” El asked, her face frowning in disbelief.

“CAIT!” El shouted. Curiosity immediately turned to shock and El rushed to where Cait’s body lay. Once at her side, El quickly rolled Cait onto her back and collected her in her arms. What El saw truly shocked her. Cait was absolutely filthy; every inch of her clothes and body was covered in a grizzly mix of dirt, sweat, blood, and vomit. Slashed down her forehead was also a deep cut that was surrounded by dried blood. Emanating from between Cait’s legs was also a strong smell of urine. Whatever had happened in the night, Cait must have wet herself; she had clearly been out here all night.

Cradling Cait’s head in her arms, El immediately pleaded for her to wake up. “Cait! Oh my God!” El cried as she cupped Cait’s ice cold cheek in her hand. “Come on, Cait. Wake up. Come on, don’t do this. Wake up.”

Cait’s body, however, remained lifeless and El began to panic. “Come on, Cait! You can’t do this! Please don’t leave me here alone. Cait, just wake up, please.” El pleaded, praying that her friend would hear her.

But Cait would not stir; her dirty face remained lifeless as El held her in her arms. With hope fading from El’s mind, she became overwhelmed with feelings of anger. The Commonwealth had taken enough from her already; she couldn’t let it take another. “Come on, Cait, just wake up, for God’s sake! CAIT, WAKE UP!”

Cait’s eyes flashed open and she gasped for breath. Coughing her lungs back into life, El gently patted Cait’s back. El felt tears well up in her eyes as Cait gasped back from the brink; the Commonwealth had failed. With her eyes darting around, Cait began to squirm uncontrollably in El’s arms. “Cait, Cait, it’s me. Calm down. It’s me!” El begged as she tried to calm Cait down.

But Cait would not settle; she was too confused and terrified to understand what was happening. Eventually, El grabbed both sides of Cait’s head to hold her still. “Cait, Cait, look, it’s me. It’s me!” she said, looking deep into Cait’s frantic eyes.

In that instant, Cait’s eyes steadied on El and she began to settle into El’s arms. Placing her hand back on her cheek El returned to cradling Cait’s body. “Cait, what are you doing out here all alone?” El pleaded.

Cait did not respond and remained lying limply in El’s arms. She was shivering violently in El’s arms and stared unseeingly ahead. It was now that El saw the fear, guilt, terror, and embarrassment in Cait’s eyes. They betrayed to El one simple word: help.

El had to get Cait out of here. Cait couldn’t stay out here. Adjusting her hands, El collected Cait in her arms and lifted her up; wrapping one of Cait’s arms around her neck. Despite her body being composed mostly of muscle, Cait was surprisingly light. With Cait secure, El began making her way back home. 

Barely two steps into her frantic journey, El noticed something lying in the dead grass. Looking closer, El saw that it was a syringe of some kind. Realising immediately what it was, El’s face sank and she looked down at Cait. Cait had clearly not seen and remained hunched up and shivering in El’s arms. El had always had her suspicions; but she never wanted to believe them.

Reaching her house, El pushed the front door open with her shoulder and immediately made straight for the bathroom. “Come on, Cait. Let’s clean you up and get you out of these clothes.” El said, trying to remain positive.

Upon reaching the bathroom, El sat Cait’s limp body on the toilet and turned on the taps of the bathtub. Thank Codsworth for installing a bathtub. “Just stay there, okay. I’ll be right back.” El said, kneeling in front of Cait.

Cait’s face remained unchanged, which El could only interpret as a positive. El then ran out of the bathroom and into Cait’s room. She had just collected Cait’s change of clothes in her hands when something sprang to mind; these would not do. Dropping the clothes, El moved onto her room and began opening her chest of drawers. Eventually, El found what she was looking for; a pair of pyjamas. They would probably be a bit big for Cait, but that didn’t matter. On her way out, El also swiped a hairbrush from on top of the drawers.

Returning to the bathroom, El was relieved to find that Cait had not moved. Placing the pyjamas and hairbrush on top of the toilet cistern, El returned her attention to her catatonic friend. “Let’s get you out of these.” El said as she stood Cait up and began unbuttoning her corset.

Before long, Cait’s filthy clothes were lying in a bundle on the floor and Cait was standing completely naked in front of El. El was, however, too worked up to notice. It was only when Cait attempted to cover herself with her hands that El noticed. Upon seeing this, El smiled reassuringly. “Please don’t feel embarrassed, Cait. Let’s just get you in the bath.

Once again collecting Cait’s shivering body in her arms, El lowered her into the bath and set about scrubbing her clean. Upon entering the warm water, Cait flinched away from the heat and attempted to curl further into El’s arms. “Ssh, ssh, Cait. Just relax.” El said attempting to calm her.

Eventually, Cait relaxed and she was successfully immersed in the warm soothing water.. Once the taps had been turned off, El collected several items from the bathroom cabinet and set to work.

For the next half an hour El scrubbed away layers of dirt, sweat, dried blood, and vomit from Cait’s skin until it was once again it’s natural porcelain white. It was now that El saw the full extent of Cait’s scars. El had seen the ones on her back, but she could not have imagined that they would cover her entire body. El, however, could not contemplate this; her first priority was making sure Cait was clean.

With her scared body scrubbed down to a porcelain white finish, El moved onto Cait’s hair. When she had found her, Cait’s greasy hair was matted together with a similar mix of the grizzly things that covered her body. Gently easing her backwards, El lowered the back of Cait’s head under the water and set about washing her hair. Bringing her back, El began working a great handful of shampoo into Cait’s scalp. Lowering her back down, El washed Cait’s hair until it was free of impurities and a flaming fiery red.

The bathwater, by this point, had now turned a ghastly brown colour and El was unable to see the bottom of the bathtub. With nowhere else on Cait’s body to scrub, El picked her out of the bath and stood her on her feet. El then collected a towel and thoroughly dried Cait down.

With Cait now dry, El retrieved the pyjamas from the toilet cistern and dressed Cait. El chuckled slightly as she buttoned the shirt around Cait’s slender body; they were a little baggy. El then sat Cait back down on the toilet and, collecting the hairbrush, proceeded to brush her hair.

It took an age, but, eventually, El managed to brush Cait’s knotted and tangled hair until it was silky smooth. Now that it was brushed, El was able to see Cait’s hair in its natural, slightly wavy, state. El couldn’t stop stroking it as she untangled small knots and tangles that had escaped her grasp. “There. Good as new.” El smiled as she knelt in front of Cait again and tucked some of her fringe behind her ear. El was trying her best to lighten the mood.

As usual, Cait was catatonically unresponsive as she sat on the toilet in her baggy pyjamas. Her look of guilt and embarrassment was unchanging. Bowing her head, El sighed in defeat as she realised that she wasn’t going to get anything out of her. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” El said, getting back to her feet.

For the final time, El gathered Cait in her arms and carried her to her bedroom. Upon reaching her bed, El lowered Cait down carefully onto the mattress. As soon as Cait landed, she immediately turned onto her side, away from El, and curled herself up in shame. Sighing in emotional exhaustion, El brought the covers over Cait’s body and brought them up to her shoulders. With Cait comfortable, El apprehensively bent over and pressed a small kiss on the side of her forehead. She wasn’t sure whether she should have done it, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. “Get some rest.” El whispered, lightly stroking Cait’s hair.

Turning around, El reached the doorway and slowly slid the door partially shut. El kept her eyes on Cait the entire time.

* * *

El sat on the sofa in silence, quietly reading one of the various books from the bookshelf behind her. El always enjoyed reading Shakespeare. Whenever she had a particularly difficult court case to prepare for, reading the speeches of English kings preparing to fight the French at Agincourt always filled her with confidence. Whilst, in this instance, reading King Lear seemed rather applicable, El’s mind was on other things.

As she thought about the day’s events, El couldn’t shake the look on Cait’s face as she washed the impurities away. Cait just looked so helpless; so fragile. What she saw today was Cait with all her defences down; the Cait that felt fear, pain, and remorse; the Cait that had, until today, been crushed under the boot of an unbearable life. El knew that Cait needed help. She had seen it in her eyes as she carried her back to the house. She had clearly needed help for a long time.

El sat for a few moments, wondering how she should handle this; should she intervene? Her natural instinct was yes; but, if she pressed too hard, she might scare Cait away. Cait normally did as she was told if pushed. But she was also stubborn, and this was no simple request. If El pushed too hard, Cait might refuse and suffer even more. El couldn’t let that happen.

Eventually, El made a decision. She would help Cait, but only if she asked. This was a decision that Cait needed to make on her own. El would obviously support her in any way she could, but Cait needed to speak first.

 _“El?”_ a voice whispered behind her.

Turning to look behind, El was greeted by Cait standing at the entrance to the corridor. She was standing slightly hunched over to hide the look of acute embarrassment on her face. She looked so small in her set of El’s baggy pyjamas.

“Cait, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” El asked courteously as she closed her book and got up from the sofa.

Cait muttered incoherently as El approached her. She was trying everything in her power to avoid eye contact with El.

El put a hand around Cait’s shoulders. “Come on. Sit down.” she said, leading Cait towards the sofa. Under El’s lead, Cait shuffled forward and plonked herself on the sofa. Noticing that El had taken a seat very close to her, Cait awkwardly shuddered and withdrew further into herself.

With nothing left to lose, Cait knew that she had to say something. “El? Can…can…can we…can we talk?” she stuttered almost inaudibly. She was already on the brink of tears.

“Of course, we can talk.” El said reassuringly. She had expected Cait to ask this.

Cait gave a small smile but looked paralysingly nervous. “Good, because I-I-I need your help. I-I’m sick, and I can’t hide it from you any longer.” Upon glancing up at El, tears started to fall down Cait’s face and panic began to set in. “I wanted to tell you; I really did. But it was just so hard; and, and I-I was just so scared; and, and, and I didn’t know what you would think of me; and I-I-I-.” Cait faltered, looking close to breaking down in front of El.

“Cait, Cait, Cait. Just slow down. Take a deep breath.” El interrupted to stop Cait from spiralling any further.

Cait took several deep, but shaky, breaths as she wiped her eyes. Once she had collected herself, she continued. “Ever since I left home, I’ve been usin’ Psycho. I don’t know why I’m still takin’ it, but I can’t stop. And believe me, I’ve tried.”

El nodded and closed her eyes, “I know.”

Cait’s eyes widened. Part of her had expected this, but it was still a shock to her. “Y-you do?” she stammered.

El nodded, “I’ve known for a while.” Taking Cait’s arm, El turned it over to reveal the many pop marks dotted across her skin. “These marks don’t lie.” she said, gently running her fingers over the incriminating dots.

Cait immediately snatched her arm away and cradled it to her chest. It was hard for her to have her secrets so easily exposed. El then reached to her end of the sofa and opened the drawer of a side table. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Cait saw El pull out an old dirty syringe and hold it in her hands. It was her Psycho.

Keenly aware that El’s piercing hazel eyes were staring at her, Cait looked away. She was too embarrassed and ashamed to look back. “I-I suppose I better get my stuff together then.” Cait said eventually, her voice awash with melancholy.

Upon hearing this, El frowned, clearly confused. “Cait, why would you say that?”

Cait rubbed her shoulder with her cradled hand, still looking away. “Because I’m a worthless junkie who doesn’t deserve to stay with someone like you.” she said hopelessly.

El’s mouth opened in shock. How could Cait ever think something like that? Placing the Psycho syringe back on the side table, El shuffled forward and put her hands on Cait’s thigh. “Cait look at me.” El commanded, a serious but calming tone in her voice. 

Cait apprehensively turned back and looked into El’s eyes. El stared at Cait and her face softened. This was not the fierce cage fighter whom she had met. This was a frightened girl, robbed of childhood, and who shielded her pain behind a wall of drugs. “I would never throw you out for something like that.” El said, leaning in closer. “Listen to me, Cait. You have nothing to fear as long as you’re with me.”

Seeing the truth in El’s eyes, Cait nodded sincerely. “Okay, I believe you. It’s just that, the Psycho has been makin’ me sick. I’ve been spittin’ blood and I don’t feel right inside. But, I-I suppose I don’t need to tell you all that.” Cait said, eluding to how El had found her that morning. “I need to get this shite out of my system, or I’m gonna end up the way you found me; only dead next time.”

“Just tell me what I can do.” El said intently, her glinting hazel eyes fixed entirely on Cait.

Cait thought for a few moments, clearly trying to think through what she was going to say. “Well, I heard stories of a vault hidden out here; Vault 95. I heard that they filled the place with junkies to poke and prod. Apparently, they had some kind of a machine to clean them up. Maybe that machine could help me.” she said. Cait had heard this story many times among the different dealers from whom she acquired her fixes. However, like every other hopeful story she had heard, Cait doubted whether it was true.

El nodded, already determined on their next course of action. “I’ll get you there.” she said authoritatively.

Cait’s face turned from one of melancholy to surprised gratitude almost instantly. “I-I can’t believe how kind you’re bein’ to me, even when I’m lettin’ you down.” she stammered as a strange warm feeling built up inside her. Cait was unsure what this feeling was, but, for some reason, it made her feel happy.

El shuffled even closer to Cait and put her arm around her shoulder, hugging her closely. Her other hand remained firmly gripped on Cait’s thigh. “You have let no-one down, Cait. You’ve done a very brave thing telling me this, and I’m so proud of you. It can’t have been easy.” El said comfortingly. “What we’ll do is have a quiet night and then set out for the vault tomorrow."

Cait looked up at El in shock. “T-t-tomorrow?” she stuttered.

El nodded, her mind already made up. “Yes, tomorrow. You asked for my help, and I intend to give it.” she said imperiously.

Cait bowed her head and leaned into El’s embrace, resting her head comfortably on her chest. The rising and falling of El’s pronounced chest soothed Cait’s anguished mind. “Thank you.” Cait whispered, her voice awash with thankfulness.

They both sat there for a few minutes, both women just taking in the moment. El gently rubbed Cait’s shoulder and, in response, Cait curled further into El’s warming embrace. Cait had no idea why, but, for some reason, she did not want to leave.

Eventually, El raised her head and looked down at Cait. "Come on, Cait. Why don’t we get you something to eat? You must be starving.”

Right on cue, Cait’s stomach gave a low grumble and she looked up at El. “Th-that sounds really good.” Cait stuttered, trying the resist a smile.

El gave a beaming smile and retracted her arm. Standing up from the sofa, El took Cait’s hands in hers and pulled her to her feet. Leading Cait by the hand, El walked her to the kitchen table and sat her down while she prepared something to eat.

As she slowly walked to the table, Cait could not fight the blushing smile enveloping her lips. Catching one last glimpse of El, Cait believed that, for the first time in her life, she was going to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you can. It really helps. 
> 
> I would also like to thank all of you for your support so far. In these uncertain days of lockdown, it is great to know that this story has generated such a positive reaction from some readers. 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you all on the next chapter.


	7. Pins and Needles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait begin their journey to the fabled Vault 95.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> Hope you're all doing well and are remaining safe. 
> 
> Thank you for all your support so far. I've read some deeply touching comments. 
> 
> Please enjoy this latest chapter.

Cait sat at the living room coffee table, carefully checking through her bag to make sure everything was prepared. Today was the day that she could finally rid herself of her addiction. However, before that, she was in for a long journey.

Cait sat alone in the living area, save for Codsworth and Dogmeat, who sat expectantly for his master. Dogmeat was nighen inseparable from El at the best of times, but Cait had yet to gain much affinity with him. Cait’s only memories of dogs were either the guards of her slavers, or the mutated mongrels of the wasteland. It would take a lot to shake those preconceptions. El’s bedroom door, meanwhile, was closed, but Cait could hear movement behind it. El was clearly going through the same process as Cait.

Reaching across to the end of the sofa, Cait collected her brown leather jacket and slipped it over her shoulders. Shivering slightly as she put it on, Cait hugged herself and let out a small contented hum. She loved how warm and comfortable it made her feel. Cait also reached behind her neck and untucked her hair, which had become bunched up under the jacket’s collar. This was something that she was unfamiliar with doing regularly. Ever since El had brushed Cait’s hair, it had become so much more of a hassle to manage; it was either getting stuck in her clothes or flopping down in front of her eyes. Yes, it did make her hair feel really soft, but Cait wondered how on earth El managed. 

_“Morning Cait. Are you ready to go?”_ El’s dulcet tones said from behind Cait.

Cait turned around and stood up from the sofa to find El standing at the entrance to the corridor. She was wearing her freshly washed vault suit that hugged every curve on her body and her custom set of armour that made her look like some kind of superhero from one of Cait’s comics. Buckled around her waist and leg was also her signature ’44 pistol that she carried around like a sacred icon. Cait bit her lip slightly as she secretly marvelled at El’s appearance; she looked incredible.

 _“Cait?”_ El said. Cait snapped back to reality to find that El was looking at her, a playful smirk on her lips.

“Urr, yeah, I’m-I’m ready to go.” Cait stammered, trying to seem oblivious to the fact that she had been staring at El.

Cait watched El look her up and down. She had a strange serious look on her face. Cait recognised that El only ever made that face when she had done something wrong. What was it this time? “I don’t think you are.” El said, raising her eyebrows.

Frowning in confused frustration, Cait looked herself up and down and found nothing wrong. “Yeah, I am. What are you on about?” she said stubbornly.

“Where is your armour?” El asked, crossing her arms.

Cait scrunched her face up, already annoyed at where this was going. "I’m not wearin’ it. It’s uncomfortable and rubs on my tits.” Cait whinged, similarly crossing her arms like a petulant child.

Despite her stubbornness, El wasn’t going to be intimidated by Cait’s attitude. Taking two slow steps forward, El straightened her back so she was standing at full height. “I know it’s not very comfortable, Cait. But the place we’re going to is likely to be crawling with raiders. And, I should point out that, the last time you didn’t wear your armour, you got mauled by a Mirelurk. I don’t want to get all the way to Vault 95 and have to dig bullets out of you. Stitching you up was hard enough.” El said with a serious look on her face.

Cait hunched her shoulders forward and huffed indignantly. The fact that El was three or four inches taller than her immediately made her shrink away somewhat. “Fine, I’ll put on your stupid armour!" Cait snapped in defeat. Dropping her arms, Cait stomped around the sofa and towards the corridor. Whilst she hated it when El would treat her like a child, something strange in the back of her mind actually liked it. For some reason, it made her feel safe; believing that El had her best interests at heart.

El moved out of the way to let Cait pass but did not change her posture. If she dropped her guard, Cait wouldn’t do as she was told. She gave a playfully smug smile as Cait passed her and disappeared down the hallway. Cait always looked slightly cute when she was annoyed with her. She kicked up a fuss, but almost always did as she was told.

A few second later, Cait returned to the living area holding the armour under her arms. She then threw her jacket off and attempted to strap on the armour over her shoulders. Cait huffed and groaned to herself as she struggled to buckle the plates to her chest.

Watching Cait, El’s face softened and she dropped her posture. Stepping forward, El gently grabbed Cait’s wrists to stop her struggling. “Hold still. Let me help.” El said softly.

Dropping her wrists, Cait submitted and let El adjust her armour. As El carefully fitted the armour to her chest, Cait awkwardly looked straight ahead. She was highly conscious of how close El was standing to her. Again, Cait got a strange warm feeling when El stood near her. The feeling had started when El comforted her about her Psycho. However, whilst it made her happy, it left her feeling confused and unsure about what to think.

“There. How does it feel?” El said, snapping Cait back to reality.

Cait stood back and shrugged. How did El move in this stuff? She looked up grumpily and found El staring at her, a look of expectation on her face. “It’s great. Never felt better.” she said sarcastically.

“Good. Glad I could be of assistance.” El said happily, returning the sarcasm. When it came to sarcasm, two could play that game.

Cait looked up at El again and stifled a blush. It was then that she noticed something protruding from behind El’s shoulder. It looked like the barrel of a gun. It seemed to be attached to a strap that ran around El’s shoulder. “W-what you got there?” Cait asked, nodding to the gun barrel to distract El from the redness in her cheeks.

El looked to where Cait was looking. “Oh, this?” Taking the gun off her shoulder, El presented Cait with an enormous sniper rifle. This was not just some makeshift pipe rifle; this was a pre-war Brotherhood of Steel level rifle. Fixed on top of the receiver was a scope so large that Cait wondered if, when looking down it, you could the see the other end of the Commonwealth. Looking up the barrel, Cait also found a suppressor that made the rifle almost as tall as her. The weapon looked amazing, and, quite frankly, just _so_ El. “The Minutemen have a small armoury here. As a General, I thought that I would raid it for some gear. If there are raiders in Vault 95, I’m going to play some games with them.” El said with a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Excuse me, Mum?” Codsworth asked as he floated over, interrupting El and Cait’s conversation. “May I ask if you will be taking breakfast this morning?”

“I’m afraid not, Codsworth.” El said, resting the sniper rifle against her leg. “I’d like to get off as early as possible. I’ve packed provisions so we can eat on the way. Happily, my PipPad has access to the old Vault Tec network, so we know that Vault 95 exists.”

“If you insist, Mum. Well, in that case, I wish you a Bon Voyage, and please return safely.” Codsworth said, bowing one of his eye stalks.

“We will. Thank you, Codsworth.” El smiled and nodded. She then turned to Cait with the same look across her face. “You ready?”

Cait retrieved her jacket, gear, and weapons and nodded back. She was ready to go. 

Slipping on her own coat, El patted her leg and Dogmeat ran up to greet his master. Lightly rustling his fur in one hand, El slung her rifle back over her shoulder and turned towards the door, with Cait following close behind.

Both fully kitted out, both women walked out into Sanctuary and started on their long journey to what awaited them in Vault 95. 

* * *

The weather in Sanctuary had clouded over from yesterday. However, despite this, the weather was clear, and the horizon was free of fog and mist. The minutemen crew were similarly exiting their camp to begin work. El had kindly informed them of their urgent errand, and that they would return to the teleporter soon. As general of the minutemen, they respected her wishes and wished them well.

They had just reached the middle of the Sanctuary bridge when Cait noticed that El had stopped in her tracks. “El, you alright?” Cait asked, frowning.

El nodded as she turned around. “Yes, everything is fine. Would you mind just coming over here?” she asked, gesturing to a spot on the bridge in front of her.

Apprehensively, Cait shuffled to the spot and looked up at El. What was this all about? “What’d you need?” Cait asked, trying not to sound confused.

El was silent as she slipped her rifle off her shoulder and rested it on one of the bridge’s wooden railings. She then reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an old dirty syringe with two canisters attached and held it in her hands.

Cait immediately recognised it as her Psycho and she looked at her feet. After what had happened to her the day before, she couldn’t look El in the eye when she held _that_ in her hands.

“Cait, look at me.” El said softy, trying to coax Cait out of her shell.

Cait's head remained bowed in embarrassment, her eyes fixed permanently on the ground. El tried again, this time, louder. “Cait, look at me.”

This time, Cait raised her head and stared into El’s hazel eyes. They had that glint in them that Cait found so weirdly mesmerising. Taking a shaky breath, she readied herself for what came next.

“Thank you.” El said, smiling reassuringly. “Now, I want you to do something for me. I want you to take this,” El said as she held the Psycho up at Cait, “and throw it away.”

Cait's eyes widened in astonishment. “W-what?” she stammered.

“I want you to take this drug and throw it in the river.” El repeated.

Fear suddenly gripped Cait’s mind as she stared at both El and the Psycho in her hand. Cait knew she needed to face her fears and kick her addiction. But she hadn’t known that El would want to push her so soon. Staring at the dirty syringe, Cait bit her lip, unsure whether she could actively throw away her only crutch in a lifetime of misery.

Sensing Cait’s dilemma, El gently took Cait’s wrist and placed the syringe in the palm of her hand. “Please, Cait. I know you can do this.” El said, closing Cait’s fingers around the syringe.

Cait held the syringe in her hands; they were shaking uncontrollably. Looking out at the river from the bridge, Cait thought long and hard about what El was asking her to do. For the past eight years, this thing in her hand had been her only support. After years of abuse, pain, misery, and hurt, this drug was the only thing that kept the nightmares at bay. How could she throw that away for a cure that may not even exist?

But then Cait remembered how much this drug had taken from her. How, with every dose she had taken over the past eight years, Cait had felt a little piece of her being chipped away. After so long, Cait felt like a shadow of what she could be. She then remembered what had happened the previous day. Cait could not forget the guilt, shame, and embarrassment she felt when El had found her. She couldn’t put herself, or El, through that again. Maybe, risking everything on this miracle machine would be worth it? With all the thoughts buzzing around her mind, Cait was afraid her head would split open.

Throughout all of this, El silently observed Cait. The look on her face was one of paralysing indecision. Cait clearly wanted to help herself but did not know whether she had the strength to do it. El wanted nothing more than to take the syringe out of Cait’s hand and throw it to the other end of the Commonwealth. But, Cait needed to do this on her own. El knew she was strong enough.

Eventually, however, Cait’s face hardened and her shaking hands gripped hard around the dirty syringe. Observing her face, El could tell that Cait had made her decision. Scrunching her face in anger, Cait held the syringe tight in her right hand and raised it high in the air. Then, letting out a pained yell, Cait threw the syringe as far as she could and watched it disappear into the river.

As the two women watched the syringe disappear beneath the water, El noticed Cait let out several subtle but deeply pained sobs. This decision had clearly been immensely difficult for Cait. El, however, knew that it could only be the right choice.

With this first hurdle crossed, El approached Cait and put her arm around her waist. Cait flinched slightly, but quickly relaxed into El’s embrace. “These are your first steps, Cait. Well done. I’m very proud of you.” El whispered, smiling down at Cait. Cait briefly glanced up at El but continued to stare ahead at the river. The sobbing had stopped, but Cait’s breath was still shaky. For the first time in eight years, Cait would need to rely on her own will to survive.

Eventually, El tapped the side of Cait’s waist, bringing her back to reality. “Come on, Cait. Let’s finish this, once and for all.” El said encouragingly.

Looking up at El, Cait gave an apprehensive, but genuine, toothless smile and nodded her head enthusiastically. El was right, if she could make this first step, then she could go all the way.

Seeing Cait’s smile, El smiled back and placed her sniper rifle back over her shoulder. “Alright then. Let’s go and find this vault.” El said, ushering Cait across the remainder of the bridge.

As both women reached the other side of the river, Cait made one last glance at where she had thrown her Psycho. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from her oldest friend and would face her fears with her newest.

* * *

As they reached the top of the ridge, the entrance to Vault 95 appeared to them in the distance. They had originally been approaching the vault from behind, but El surmised that circling around would provide a better view of what they would face.

“Alright, let’s get down. I don’t want us to make a scene.” El said as she crouched down and shrugged her rifle and rucksack off her shoulders. Mimicking his master, Dogmeat lay down and rested his head on his paws.

Cait remained standing next to El and didn’t understand why they needed to be so cautious. “Let’s just charge in and shoot everythin'.” She said feverishly.

El turned and gave Cait a look of reserved dissatisfaction. “Cait, didn’t we have a conversation earlier about digging bullets out of you?” she asked sarcastically.

Remembering the conversation all too well, Cait huffed to herself and crouched down next to El.

Reaching into her rucksack, El took out a small pair of binoculars and peered towards the vault entrance. El’s heart sank somewhat as her fears were confirmed; the place was infested with raiders. They had clearly managed to open the vault's bulkhead door. Through the binoculars, El spied five raiders dotted around the vault entrance. Two raiders were lounging comfortably on deck chairs atop the cave entrance, whilst two others were resting their backs against the cave’s rock face. A fifth raider was patrolling aimlessly in the valley in front of them. “Let’s give them the silent treatment.” El said roguishly as she took her eyes away from the binoculars.

“What you gonna do?” Cait asked quizzically.

“Just sit back and watch.” El said mischievously as she handed the binoculars to Cait.

Shuffling so she was lying on her front, El took her sniper rifle in hand and prepared to dispatch the raiders. She groaned slightly as her front rested on the ground. El had always found lying on her front uncomfortable. Her body certainly did not lend itself very well to it. This time, however, it just seemed worse; her chest and stomach felt slightly more pronounced than before. _“Do I need to go on a diet?”_ El thought to herself. Returning to the matter at hand, El decided that she would just have to suffer through the discomfort.

With her sniper rifle ready, El looked through the scope and eyed her first target. Selecting one of the lounging raiders as her first target, El steadied her breathing and placed her finger on the trigger.

Gently squeezing the trigger, El fired off a shot that flew directly into the side of the first raider’s head. Remaining focussed, El continued peering the scope to observe the impact. To her relief, the second lounging raider was completely obvious of their comrade sitting limply in his chair. El chuckled slightly; raiders really were stupid.

Quickly focussing her breathing again, El squeezed the trigger and sent off another round that landed directly in the second raider’s right eye. Owing to the surprise, the raider similarly slumped forward in their chair. To El’s surprise, however, they fell forward and rolled off the roof of the cave, landing forcibly on the hard ground beneath.

Noticing the sound of the falling body, the remaining raiders simultaneously turned to where the body had landed. They then turned to the far ridge and began running towards where El and Cait lay, firing aimlessly as they ran. Following their friends, a new fourth raider appeared from within the cave and scrambled into the valley.

Realising that her ploy was played, El looked away from her scope and towards the valley. “And here comes the parade.” She said with a sigh. “Cait, I’m gonna need you now.”

But El received no response from the friend crouched next to her. Turning to look at Cait, El found her friend staring gormlessly at her body, her mind a million miles away from where it needed to be. Looking behind her, El failed to miss the fact that her arse was rather ostentatiously protruding into the air. It was at times like these that El wished her body was completely flat. “ _Cait?_ ” El repeated, trying to get her attention.

At this, Cait’s mind returned to reality and she looked up at El’s face, completely vacant from everything that had just happened. Sighing in mild frustration, El gestured her finger towards the valley. “When you’re quite finished ogling.” She said mockingly.

Cait’s cheeks turned bright red and she immediately turned her head towards the valley. Looking through El’s binoculars, Cait eyed the four raiders running towards them and readied her shotgun.

“Here, use this instead.” El said. Cait looked over to find El holding out her pistol to her. “I’ll pick them off from a distance, you deal with any that get too close.” El said. Taking the pistol, Cait lay down next to El and readied for battle.

El immediately returned to her rifle and quickly fired off a shot into a raider’s leg. With their leg incapacitated, the raider lost their footing and fell face first into the ground. With one raider down, El instantly fired a second round into the raider behind. Landing in the raider’s stomach, he dropped his pistol and staggered for a few moments before falling on his side. Losing some of her concentration, El fired a third round that only just missed its intended target. 

With that miss, El realised that the raiders were getting too close for her long-range sniping. Peering through her scope, El saw, to her surprise, the same raider she had missed fly backwards as their shoulder exploded before her. Looking to her left, El saw Cait kneeling upright with her smoking pistol pointing directly at the sky. “I forgot to say, that pistol has a tremendous amount of recoil.” El said, deeply impressed.

Cait let out a heavy breath and nodded. Even she was surprised how much the gun recoiled. Noticing something ahead of her, Cait immediately brought the gun back down and fired another shot down into the valley.

Seeing the shot, El looked over the ridge and saw the final raider rolling unceremoniously back down the valley. “Looks like that’s the last of them.” El chuckled as she got to her feet.

Cait similarly got back to her feet and collected her rucksack. “You were awesome with that rifle.” she said to El, completely amazed by her friend’s abilities.

Giving a smug but genuinely friendly smile, El collected her rucksack and slung it over her shoulder. “Thanks. You weren’t so bad yourself. You’re pretty good with that pistol.”

Holding El’s pistol in her hand, Cait pulled a playfully disparaging face and shook her head. “Not really my style.” she said, handing the pistol back to El.

“Fair enough.” El said understandably as she took the pistol back and placed it in its holster. El then looked out towards the empty valley and vault entrance.

“Shall we see if anyone’s home?” Cait asked rhetorically as she gripped her axe tightly in her hands.

“After you, milady.” El said jokingly, gesturing her arm towards the entrance to the vault.

They had just reached the midpoint between the ridge and the cave entrance when El suddenly threw her arm out in front of Cait to stop her. Cait frowned and looked across at El, wondering what was troubling her. El’s face was one of deep thought, as if she was trying to work something out. “What is it?” Cait asked.

“Sssh.” El said sharply, trying to listen out for something. In the distance, El could hear the faint sound of something powering up. It sounded like some kind of generator. Whatever it was, it seemed to get louder as the sound continued.

As they listened, El could just make out a small red light in the distance. It was hard to make out, but it exited the vault entrance like some kind of phantom and was making its way towards them. The light also seemed to be getting brighter as the sound got louder.

El’s eyes widened when she finally heard the invisible mechanical clunk of robotic limbs moving quickly towards them. “Cait, get down!” El shouted as she wrestled Cait to the ground, finally aware of what the mysterious object was.

They just managed to reach the ground when a huge laser beam appeared from thin air and blasted over their heads. As the beam reseeded, and the sound quietened, El looked up from the ground and stared ahead. “Fucking bastards have an assaultron!” El snarled.

As soon as El spoke she heard the mechanical sound again. “Come on, Cait, get up! Get up!” El shouted as she scrambled to her feet.

Following El’s orders, Cait quickly got to her feet and readied her shotgun. She, however, had no time to aim before the assaultron’s newly materialised claws slammed into her stomach, sending her flying backwards.

With Cait down, the assaultron turned on El and forcibly grabbed her sniper rifle. Attempting to resist the robot’s grasp, El soon found herself in a wrestling match as the assaultron tried to prise her weapon off her. El was, however, not strong enough and she was steadily being pushed backwards into the dirt. By this point, Dogmeat began to bite the assultron’s leg, in a vain attempt to pull the robot away. As El tried, with all her strength to push back against the robot, she saw that the assaultron was recharging its facial laser. If she didn’t get free, she would, quite literally, be toast.

Suddenly, El saw a shining axe blade slam into the assaultron’s head, almost severing it cleanly from the body. A second blow smashed the body to pieces, and it clattered limply onto the ground in a pile of junk. Looking up, El saw Cait standing over her, her axe in one hand, and her other extended out to her. “Need a hand?” Cait asked, breathing heavily.

Taking Cait’s hand, El was hauled to her feet and she examined the assaultron’s remains. “Thank you, Cait. It had me pinned.” El said thankfully.

“Don’t mention it. You’d have done the same for me.” Cait said, similarly looking at the sparking remains. She then turned back towards the vault entrance. “now, let’s find this damn machine!” Cait said brusquely.

Slinging her rifle back over her shoulder, El nodded. “Good idea. We should get out of the open.”

As they approached the entrance to the cave, they came across a lone raider crawling back towards a gun that was lying not far from him. El immediately recognised him as the raider whom she had shot in the stomach. He must have crawled back whilst she and Cait were distracted by the assaultron. Retrieving her pistol, El sauntered in front of the raider and kicked the idle gun away from his grasp. Rolling onto his back, the raider put his hands up as El and Cait stood over him. “K-kill me, please.” he begged.

“Okay. But not because you told me to.” El said unemotionally as she raised her pistol and fired a bullet into the raider’s head.

* * *

The vault was a hard-fought battle for both El and Cait, but, finally, they reached the entrance to the clean room. Stopping to catch their breath, El slowly wandered towards a door and window situated at the far end of the room.

Looking through the thick glass, El noticed a strange looking chair dominating the space. Its look was hardly prepossessing, but there were several additions that made it seem different. Attached to the armrests and the chair's feet were four manacle-like contraptions that gave El slight cause for concern. A second feature were two sets of wires and tubes that wound their way both behind and in front of the chair. The first set wound their way back towards the far wall of the where the chair was positioned. Beyond that point, they disappeared to somewhere El could not see. The second set ran towards the dividing wall where El stood and towards a terminal located to El's right. 

What drew most of El’s attention, however, were two syringes that were positioned towards the top of the chair. The attached needles looked formidable. Whatever, they did, El wasn’t sure she wanted to be on the receiving end of them. The syringes also appeared to be connected to the first set of wires and tubes. All this evidence led El to the conclusion that this was the fabled machine that Cait had told her about. it did exist after all.

El turned behind her to find that Cait was also looking through the window. She looked very composed, but El could see in her eyes that she was deeply troubled. “Well, we didn’t come all this way for nothing.” El said, trying to make conversation.

Shocked back to reality by El’s voice, Cait fumbled a response. “Oh, urr, yeah, we should get on with it.” she said. She tried to sound genuine, but her fidgeting betrayed her words.

Sensing her unease, El walked toward Cait to probe her concern. “Cait, are you alright?” she asked, frowning.

Cait looked at the ground and continued to fidget. “I’m fine. Let’s just get this done.” Despite her words, Cait did not move.

El could tell that something was wrong with Cait; she was distant and awkward. Normally, El would have let Cait come forward with her problems; as she had done with her addiction. But today, she was going to have to force the issue. She didn’t come all this way, and fight her way through an entire vault, for Cait to have second thoughts. “What’s wrong, Cait?” El asked bluntly.

“Nothin’!” Cait snapped, visibly agitated by El’s probing. “I just…It’s just… that…the answer to all my problems is behind that door. I just don’t know whether I should go through with it.” Cait looked away from El, clearly embarrassed by her indecision.

El had to use all the mental strength she had to keep from losing her temper. She was not going to let this go. “Cait, we came all this way. If you don’t do this, you could die.” El implored, trying to remain calm.

“I know! I know!” Cait shouted, evidently exacerbated by the entire situation. “But there were reasons I took the drugs; to dull the pain. There were so many things I wanted to forget. What if I go through that machine and I don’t like what I see? I…I...just…I…I don’t want them to hurt me anymore. I…I…I…I don’t w-want them t-to h-hurt me anymore. I...I...I...” Cait stuttered as she began to cry.

Despite her frustration, El could do nothing but take her friend in her arms and hug her tightly as she wept. With every sob, Cait gripped onto El for dear life as she wailed into her shoulder. Cait’s energy seemed to completely evaporate as she cried because her legs soon buckled, and she started sliding to the ground. Realising this, El caught Cait tightly and slowly lowered the two of them to the floor.

El positioned herself so that Cait was sitting on her lap, her face permanently buried in her shoulder as she wept. All El could do was gently stroke Cait’s smooth wavy hair and whisper calming noises into her ear. Cait seemed completely lost at sea. El figured that, whilst throwing her drugs away must have been hard, coming face to face with the cure would be far more of a test.

Eventually, Cait’s tears subsided, but she continued to mumble incoherently into El’s shoulder. “I d-don’t want them to hurt m-me anymore. I don’t want them to h-hurt me anymore. I-I don’t want th-them to hurt m-me anymore.” Cait repeated over and over, gripping El as tightly as she could.

“They can’t hurt you anymore, Cait. They’re gone and you’re safe. None of this is your fault.” El said soothingly in Cait’s ear as she stroked her hair.

“I don’t want them to hurt me anymore. I don’t want them to hurt me anymore.” Cait continued to mumble.

El then moved her head so she was staring directly at Cait. it was then she saw into Cait’s tearful eyes. They looked exactly the same as when she had found her that dreadful morning; confused and scared. Despite this, El knew that she needed to force Cait to believe her that this ‘cure’ was a good idea. Holding her tightly, El looked deep into Cait’s eyes. “Cait, listen to me. No one is going to hurt you anymore. And do you know why? Because you’re strong. You are so, so strong. You had the courage to speak about your darkest fears, and here you are, trying to fix it.” El said, speaking directly from the heart.

Cait, however, was not convinced. As far as she was concerned, she was only here because El had found out about her addiction and she had nowhere left to hide. “I’m not as strong as you think.” she said despondently.

“But you are, Cait. Believe me, you are. You have survived so much. Any other person would have faltered long before you. But you survived and proved everyone wrong. Curing yourself will prove to all of your tormentors that you are stronger than they are.” El begged as she placed a hand over Cait’s heart. El, was herself trying to hold back tears of her own.

Cait, however, remained unconvinced and El realised that she was fighting a losing battle. Cait just didn’t have the strength to cure herself on her own. Risking everything, El decided to take a gamble. “Cait, if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for me.” El whispered.

Cait processed El’s words as she stared into her eyes. They were glinting that hazel colour that Cait found so mesmerising. El had done so much for her since their first meeting. How could she let her down like this? That was exactly what her parents and former slavers would expect her to do. She was better than that.

Eventually, Cait nodded and El rested her forehead against hers. “Thank you.” El whispered, allowing a solitary tear to slip down her cheek.

They stayed there for a few moments, both women savouring the moment and processing what had just been said. Eventually, however, El raised her head and started moving to her feet. “Come on, let’s finish this. On your feet, soldier.” El said as she took Cait’s hands.

Cait could not help but let out a chuckle as she got to her feet.

El began making her way to the clean room terminal but Cait caught her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Surprised, El placed her hands around Cait’s head and back and smiled. “Thank you.” Cait whispered, sniffling slightly as she spoke.

El was somewhat shocked by how long Cait stayed locked around her waist, but she didn’t mind. Cait clearly needed this and she was happy to oblige.

Cait then abruptly pulled away and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m gonna sit in the chair. When you’re ready, go ahead and throw the switch.” Cait then began walking towards the clean room’s door.

At the last minute, El grabbed Cait’s hand and Cait turned back to look at her. “I’ll be right here.” El said reassuringly.

Cait nodded, but her attention was focussed more on that El’s hand was locked together with hers. El, however, soon dropped her hand and began walking towards the operations terminal.

Sensing that the time was now, Cait opened the door and stepped into the clean room.

As she stood at the terminal, El watched Cait entre the clean room and sit gingerly in the chair. When she was as comfortable as was possible, Cait gave El a nod.

Taking a deep breath, El set in motion the purge program and pressed ‘ENTER”.

As soon as she pressed the button, El heard a loud clunk as the clean room’s door slammed shut and locked itself. El hadn’t expected this to happen. Looking through the glass, she saw the chair’s manacles clip tightly around Cait's wrists and ankles. As the manacles clamped shut and the thick needles began to move forward, El saw Cait’s eyes flash with fear and panic. She looked completely helpless.

Pain suddenly erupted in Cait’s neck as the needles penetrated her skin and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. El watched Cait’s spine writhe and contort as the needles bored into her body.

Seeing Cait’s pain, El rushed to the door and pressed the keypad. But nothing happened; the door remained closed. El pressed it again, harder. Again, it remained closed. Frantically, pressing the keypad, El hopelessly attempted to open the door and save Cait. But the door remained unmoved. 

Smacking the door in frustration, El frantically returned to the glass and looked at Cait. Peering through, El watched tears stream down Cait’s face as she screamed loudly. Despite her screams, due to the room’s soundproofing, El could hear nothing from behind the glass.

Realising that nothing else would work, El pulled her pistol from its holster and aimed it at the glass. Pulling the trigger, her first round impacted the glass, but went no further. Grunting angrily, El fired a second round that similarly went nowhere. Before long, El had emptied her gun with nothing to show but some bullet holes. “Piece of shit!” El shouted as she put her pistol back in its holster. 

Returning to the glass, El could do nothing but watch as her friend writhed in pain under the stress of the machine she sat inside. Banging her fist on the cracked glass, El yelled forlornly at Cait, wishing for her to hear.

After several minutes, the tubes attached to the needles began filling with a clear liquid that soon passed into Cait’s neck. As soon as the liquid entered Cait’s body, she began to relax.

Watching from behind the glass, El saw Cait’s eyes grow heavy as she slipped into unconsciousness. She needed to get inside, and fast.

Once the required dose of clear liquid had been administered, the machine’s needles retracted from Cait’s neck and she slumped limply in the chair. The interlocking manacles similarly retracted, freeing Cait from her confinement.

A loud clunk signalled to El that the door was unlocked and rushed to the clean room. Upon entering, El knelt in front of Cait and took her head in her hands. “Cait, Cait? Speak to me.” El said, begging for Cait to respond. Cait, however, remained still. “Come on, Cait. Don’t do this. Come on, give me a sign here. Just one word, please.” El begged. Cait remained unresponsive and sat limply in the chair.

Scrambling into her rucksack, El retrieved a stimpak and quickly jabbed it into Cait’s arm. The clear fluid of the stimpak passed into Cait’s body and El bowed her head in exhaustion.

El needed to get Cait out of here. This place was not safe and Cait was in a bad way. Hooking her arms under her back and knees, El picked Cait up bridal style and began her long journey to the vault exit.

* * *

Once they were back outside, El set to work. Whilst carrying Cait out of the vault, El had managed to retrieve some rope from one of the many storage crates littering the corridors. Placing Cait gently down on the ground, El unclipped Cait’s sleeping bag and quickly unfurled it. It didn’t even occur to El that Cait hadn’t even used this sleeping bag once since buying it for her. With the sleeping bag unfurled and unzipped, El slipped Cait inside and zipped the bag back up. El then wrapped the rope around the sleeping bag and tied it around her shoulders. _“This is not going to be a comfortable trip back”_ El thought to herself.

With Cait secure, El prepared for the long journey back. As she took one last look at Vault 95’s cave entrance, El reached into her pocket and retrieved a lighter. Striking it into life, El threw in onto a wet patch of dead grass and a small flame began working its way towards the vault.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the cave’s rock face and the vault entrance was permanently locked under a wall of rock, rubble, and concrete.

With the vault entrance sealed, El set off on her return journey to Sanctuary, dragging an unconscious Cait behind her. Whether or not this machine worked, El made sure that no one ever entered Vault 95 again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> The section where Cait throws the Psycho off the Sanctuary was not originally in my chapter plan. I got the idea from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; where Kylo Ren throws his lightsaber off the Death Star ruins. I think it fitted quite well. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you can. It really does help. 
> 
> Thank you for all your support. I have been amazed by this story's reaction. I never imagined that this story would get such a reaction. 
> 
> Anyway, stay safe and i'll see you all in the next chapter.


	8. Fresh Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Cait is addiction free, where will her life take her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> Hope you are all well and safe; wherever you are. 
> 
> I had a day off work, so decided to finish writing this chapter early. 
> 
> Please enjoy. 
> 
> *WARNING* Without revealing too much, I'm slowly easing in the smut. So, you have been warned - mainly warned about my writing. Smutty scenes are quite hard to write - pun intended.

Cait’s eyes flickered open to what she considered to be another planet. Adjusting to the light, Cait’s eyes darted around her surroundings, trying to work out where she was. From what she remembered, it looked like her room in El’s house. But, in many ways, it just _wasn’t_ ; the colours were so vibrant; the smells were so much more potent; sounds were so much clearer than before. Where was she?

The last thing she remembered was going to Vault 95 to cure her Psycho addiction. Everything after that was blank. If that was the case, how did she get back to El’s house? Adding to her confusion, when attempting to move her limbs, Cait realised that she was lying back in her bed. Running her hands over the bed’s sheets, Cait was shocked at how soft they were. Despite sleeping in this bed before, the sensation was completely new for her. Why did everything she saw, smelt, and touched, feel so much more lifelike?

Among the new vibrant sounds in Cait’s ears was the low rising and falling of someone’s breath. Turning her head, Cait was delighted to see El sitting in a chair across the room from her. Her head was bowed, and her body was slumped slightly forward, indicating to Cait that she was asleep. El was wearing her signature vault suit half undone and a white vest covering up her pronounced chest. On her lap sat an open book and on the floor beside her were a pile of dirty dishes. How long had El been sitting there? 

“E-El?” Cait croaked, her throat feeling very dry as she spoke.

El remained unmoved on her chair.

“El?” Cait asked again, this time louder.

El inhaled sharply and raised her head, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Looking towards the bed, El gave a beaming, but dopey smile as she saw that Cait had awoken. “Cait, you're finally awake.” El said, immediately getting off her chair and moving to sit on the bed next to Cait. “How are you feeling?”

Still attempting to work out everything in her head, Cait did her best at answering. “I…I…I’m not sure. Everythin’ feels so… _different_ ; colours, sounds, smells. It’s like nothin’ I can remember.”

“But, do you think the machine worked? What about the cravings?” El asked, leaning in further, her face awash with concern.

Cait thought for a few moments and then her eyes widened in shock. “I…I…I don’t feel anythin’. The cravings, the rush, everythin’, i-it’s gone.” At this realisation, tears started to well up in Cait’s eyes. She couldn’t believe it. “I-it worked. Was I really that far gone?” Cait asked, trying not to break down in tears of joy.

Sensing her friend’s delight, El smiled and placed a hand on Cait’s cheek. “I’m just glad you’re alright. I was worried about you.”

El was going to speak further but was interrupted by the arrival of Codsworth. Floating into the room, his three eyestalks fluttered slightly as he saw that both El and Cait were awake. “Ah, Miss Cait. You’re finally awake. Might I ask if you and Miss Eloise will be partaking in some breakfast this morning?” he said in his characteristically chirpy voice.

“That sounds great, Codsworth. We’ll be out in a bit.” El said, turning to the spherical robot.

“Wonderful, Mum. I shall make preparations. You should know, Miss Cait, that Miss Eloise has hardly left your bedside since your return.” Codsworth said obliviously.

Rolling her eyes and sighing in frustration, El turned her head to Cosdworth and attempted to usher him out of the room. “Yes, thank you, Codsworth. I said we will be out in a bit.” El said, wanting to chastise him for his gossip.

Codsworth moved towards the door, but suddenly veered right to collect the pile of plates next to El’s chair. “And Mum, it is not normally my place, but I must insist that you take a shower. You have not washed, or changed your clothes, in over two days.” Codsworth said as he passed El.

Visibly annoyed by his prying, El, once again, turned her head to face Codsworth. “Yes, _thank you,_ Codsowrth.” she said, insinuating for the robot to leave.

Oblivious to El’s reprimand, Codsworth floated to the doorway and exited down the corridor. At last, El and Cait were left in peace.

El sighed contentedly. At last, they were alone. “Right, now that he’s gone, why don’t we get you-.” El turned her head and was stopped in her words by Cait staring at her, a look of shock on her face. She had clearly been listening to every word of that exchange.

“H-have I really been out for two days?” Cait asked, trying to piece the events of the last few days together.

El’s cheeks went slightly red and she bowed her head slightly. “Yes. Well, if you count the day that we went to Vault 95, it was three days.”

Cait immediately sat up in her bed, wanting to know everything. “B-but how did I get _here_?” she implored.

To stop her spiralling, El caught Cait and gently lowered her back onto her pillow. “Shh, shh, Cait. Just slow down.” El said as she readjusted the covers over Cait’s restless body. El then took a deep breath and began. “When you came out of the machine in Vault 95, you were completely out cold. I tried to bring you back to consciousness, but you were too far gone. I knew that I to get you somewhere safe. I was so worried about you that the only place I could think of was here. So, I dragged you back here, literally.” El’s eyes looked down slightly. She looked almost embarrassed as she spoke. This was a new emotion for El; Cait had never seen El embarrassed before.

Stunned by El's revelations, Cait immediately moved to open her mouth. She was, however, quickly interrupted by El. “Cait, I’ll talk more over some breakfast. You must be starving.” El placed a hand back on Cait’s cheek and tucked several strands of loose hair behind her ear. “I’ll give you a few minutes.” El then got up from the bed and made her way out of Cait’s room, towards to kitchen.

Cait believed that her head would explode with all the thoughts buzzing around her mind. She couldn’t believe it; she was finally free. For the first time in eight years, she had finally rid herself of the addiction that was slowly eating her alive. So, this what sobriety felt like? Cait had almost forgotten what that felt like. Cait could have cried; she was so happy. And the person beside her the entire way was El.

Cait’s mind was suddenly awash with thoughts of El and everything she had done for her. El had found her after her overdose and comforted her as she bore her soul. El had then put aside all her plans to get Cait the help she needed. When Cait had second thoughts, El was the one who took her in her arms and drove her forward. And when Cait was left unconscious from the procedure, El had literally dragged her to safety and sat by her bedside for two days. It was in this moment that Cait decided El could be only one thing; a superhero. That was what heroes did, wasn’t it?

Pangs of guilt began to enter Cait’s thoughts as she contemplated this phenomenon. El had done so much for her in their time together. Yet, throughout everything, the Castle, her addiction, Vault 95, she had never asked for anything in return. That didn’t sit well with Cait, she just couldn’t accept it.

But as Cait thought, a feeling of hope began to swell inside her. Now that she free, maybe, she could find a way to help repay her debt. Maybe she could help El with the teleporter? El would hopefully be grateful for any help Cait could give.

 _“Cait, breakfast is ready!”_ El’s shouting from down the corridor brought Cait back to the real world. Gently manoeuvring her legs out from under the covers, Cait was stunned to find she was, once again, wearing the baggy set of pyjamas that El had given her. _“Great.”_ Cait thought to herself. Now El was letting her wear her clothes.

Accepting that El would probably just let her keep them, Cait sighed and made her way out of her bedroom. Upon entering the living and kitchen area, she was greeted by El sitting at the dining table with Codsworth setting the places. “Cait, come on through.” El beamed with a smile as Cait came into view.

Cait’s cheeks went bright pink as she slowly approached the table. Codsworth then floated over and laid a place mat for her. “Ah, Miss Cait. So glad you could join us. Do have a seat.” he said, pulling a chair out for Cait. Apprehensively, Cait sat down and looked across to a beaming El. She was giving her the happiest smile that Cait had ever seen.

With her cheeks going pink, Cait bowed her head bashfully as Codsworth dished out a healthy portion of Brahmin steak and Mirelurk omelette onto her plate. “Bon appetite, ladies.” Codsworth said, bowing his middle eyestalk.

“Thank you, Codsworth.” El said, looking at the delicious meal in front of her. She then looked up and gestured her hand to Cait’s plate. “Dig in.” she said, smiling.

* * *

“Be careful, Cait. If these chemicals aren’t mixed properly, we’re going to end up with bad prints.” El said as she watched.

“I got it. I won’t mess it up.” Cait replied as she tried to concentrate.

El held her hands up in defence. “Alright, I’m just making sure.” she said playfully as Cait carefully poured and mixed the required chemicals. El chuckled slightly as she watched; Cait always pulled an adorably silly face when she was trying to concentrate.

After having breakfast, it was decided that Cait should have a day to regain her strength. To that end, El had suggested that Cait take a shower before her. After everything she had been through, El surmised that Cait deserved to wash first. The shower was absolutely heavenly. After so many years of addiction, the sensation of the warm water made Cait feel like a new woman. Once finished, Cait exited the bathroom and El took her place.

Once they were both washed and dressed, El insisted that she brush Cait’s hair. Much against Cait’s objections, El brushed Cait’s matted hair until it was silky smooth and glowing. Whilst Cait got frustrated at how long it took, she did appreciate how it made her hair feel.

After watching a couple of movies, in which Cait seemed close to wetting himself with excitement, El had suggested they develop the photographs they had taken that evening in El’s house. As that was the day that Cait really got to know El, she accepted the idea happily.

El had chosen the laundry room as the best place to develop the film. It was a bit cramped, which seemed to speed up Cait’s heart rate somewhat, but its lack of windows would ensure better quality prints.

Once the chemical had been properly mixed, El opened the camera and removed the roll of film for development. “Okay, now that that’s all prepared, we need to turn the lights off and switch over to red light. That will stop us getting overexposed photographs.” El said carefully as she flicked the light switch.

As the small cramped room was plunged into darkness, Cait’s breath hitched and her heartbeat increased dramatically. She was now standing in a small dark room with El standing so close to her.

Fumbling slightly along the wall, El eventually found the right switch and ignited a set of Christmas lights that illuminated the room in a red glow. Despite not having a proper red light, these would suffice. Thank Codsworth for finding them. Looking over to Cait, El grew concerned as she saw a nervous look on her face. “Cait?” El asked, frowning slightly.

Returning to reality, Cait looked up at El. She was completely unaware of El’s concern.

“Cait, is everything alright. You look very nervous. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I just thought that you would enjoy it.” El said, showing genuine worry a she spoke.

“No, I’m fine.” Cait blurted. “i-I want to do this.” Cait gave an awkward toothless smile and turned to look at the developing equipment. Happily, the red light did a good job at masking the blush growing on her cheeks.

The developing process was a long and fiddly process, but El talked Cait through everything. Cait appeared to find it really interesting, but the main focus of her attention was not on the film, but on El. When she was not following El’s instructions, Cait would momentarily glance up at her friend and admire her features; her eyes; her nose; her mouth; her ears; her hair; her neck; her chest; her arms; her hands; the sound of her voice. She was just _mesmerising_.

“Okay, now we wait for the photo to develop on the paper.” El said, leaning in slightly to observe this key stage of the process. Returning to the matter at hand, Cait similarly leaned closer to watch the paper sink beneath the chemicals.

Slowly, and to Cait’s wide eyed astonishment, two forms started appearing on the submerged paper. As Cait watched intently, features began to give the forms life. Before long, Cait saw her and El’s faces materialise on the paper, as if by magic. It was the picture that El had taken when she had put her arm around Cait’s shoulder, when Cait had started to believe that El was her friend. Cait looked at the picture and her mouth opened slightly; she was staring at an image of herself; as if she was frozen in time.

With the photograph sufficiently developed, El carefully lowered a small pair of tweezers into the chemicals and slowly pulled the picture out. She then pegged it to a line of string that hung across the room. Letting out a contented sigh, El put an arm around Cait’s shoulders and smiled. “There, your first developed photo.” El said, looking between Cait and the hanging photograph. “We can let this one dry while we develop some more.”

Over the next few hours, the line of pegs became filled with newly developed photographs. As El clipped the last one onto the line, she unclipped the first one they had made and presented it to Cait. “Here, take this one. It should be dry enough.” El said, handing Cait the photograph.

Taking the photograph, Cait smiled happily and looked up at El. “T-thank you.” she stuttered. “I’ve never had anythin' like this before.” Cait could not stop looking at the picture in her hands.

El chuckled heartily, deeply touched by Cait’s sentiment. “It’s my pleasure, Cait.” El then groaned slightly and rubbed her eyes. “God, all these hours under red light is making my eyes hurt.” Turning away from Cait, El partially opened the laundry door to allow some natural light inside.

With El’s back turned, Cait examined the other photographs hanging along the line of string. Amongst them, one photograph in particular caught her attention. Cait immediately recognised it as the picture she had taken of El when she had given her the camera. Sensing her chance, Cait silently unhooked the photograph from its pegs and covertly placed it under print that El had given her.

“Ah, some things never change.” El said, rubbing her eyes. Peering out into the hallway, El noticed the dwindling sunlight coming through the windows. She had been so preoccupied with showing Cait photo development, she had completely lost track of time. Inhaling deeply through her nose, El sensed delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. Codsworth must be cooking her and Cait up a delectable meal. Returning to her laundry room, El turned to Cait. “I think it’s getting late. Do you fancy getting something to eat? I think Codsworth is cooking us up a delicious smelling meal.”

Right on cue, Cait’s stomach gave a low rumble. Ever since freeing herself of her addiction, Cait’s appetite had increased exponentially. “Yeah, I’m fuckin’ starvin’.” she said cheerfully.

Opening the door fully, and turning the red lights off, El stood in the corridor and courteously gestured her arm for Cait to exit. “Come on then. Let’s see what Codsworth had cooked up for us.”

Shuffling past El, Cait hugged her new photographs to her chest as she exited the dark cramped laundry room. For the first time in her life, barring comic books, Cait had something in her hands that she could treasure.

* * *

That night, Cait lay in bed, unable to sleep. Ever since retiring for the night, Cait had been laid in bed staring at her photographs. She must have been staring at them for hours, but she couldn’t take her eyes away. Every time she looked them over, a new feature would present itself and Cait would stare until it was etched into her memory.

However, whilst she examined both photos, the vast majority of her attention was directed towards El’s portrait. Cait couldn’t help but lose herself in El’s portrait; every feature of her face and body was just enchanting. Cait had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Ever since El had saved her life twice and freed her of her Psycho addiction, Cait had seen El in a completely new light. Yes, she still saw El as a hot piece of eye candy. But, now, there was something more. Cait didn’t just see El for her body, she saw El as some kind of superhero who saved helpless people without any thought to themselves. 

Even when portrayed as a black and white photo, El’s features appeared to leap out and bewitch Cait. Her glinting hazel eyes that bored into her soul. The lips around her captivating smile that longed to be kissed. Her smooth flowing hair that Cait yearned to run her fingers through. Her large plump breasts that ached to be held and suckled. Cait wanted nothing more than to disappear into the picture and give El the love she so desperately needed.

Cait’s mind suddenly flashed back to something that had happened earlier that day. Whilst El had gone for a shower, Cait had sat on her bed drying her hair. The entrance to her room was partially open, so she could hear the sound of water from behind the bathroom door. It was then that Cait started to wonder what was going on behind that door. What did El look like under her clothes? Were her breasts and arse as juicy in the flesh as they were from within her vault suit; Cait believed that they must be. Did El ever touch herself. If Cait had a body like El’s, she would find any excuse to touch herself. Did El ever think about her when she touched herself? By the time El was done, Cait was rocking back and forth on her bed, a hot bubbling mess, and her underwear completely soaked.

As Cait reminisced about these sensuous thoughts, her left hand began to slowly unbutton her pyjama shirt. Similarly, dropping her photographs, her right slipped under her pyjama bottoms. Cait’s breath hitched as her fingers gently ran over the thick patch of hair between her legs.

With the last of her shirt buttons undone, Cait gently cupped her large plump right breast and pinched its erect nipple between her thumb and forefinger. At almost the same time, Cait’s right forefinger made contact with her clit and she moaned loudly.

As Cait kneaded her breast and aching nipples, and massaged her increasingly engorged clit, ripples of warm pleasure reverberated throughout her body. The pleasure was so much that Cait had to bite her lip to stop from moaning too loudly. That was, however, far easier said than done.

Basking in her pleasure, with every stroke, the pressure inside Cait’s core continued to build.

* * *

El sat on her bed with her back resting against the headboard; quietly immersed in the book sitting on her lap. Reading always allowed El to unwind after a long day. After finishing her chapter, El closed the book and placed it on her bedside table. She then closed her eyes and surrendered to her thoughts.

A plethora of thoughts began to run through El’s mind: Sanctuary, The Minutmen, the teleporter, The Institute, Vault 95, Cait…Cait.

El opened her eyes and frowned to herself; why did her mind suddenly fixate on Cait? Turning her head back to her bedside table, El’s eyes fell on two photographs sitting in front of her book. El collected the two photographs and examined them intently.

The first photograph was of El and Cait, that night in Diamond City, when Cait had told El about her past. Looking at the print, El saw her arm lovingly wrapped around Cait’s shoulder. El couldn’t help but smile; the two of them just looked so natural together. Cait looked so shy in the that photo, but, El had to admit, Cait looked extremely adorable when she was shy.

Swapping the photos, El’s inhaled sharply as she beheld the portrait she had taken of Cait when first introducing her to a camera. Despite it being in black and white, El stared into those deep green eyes and thought back to how helpless Cait seemed that evening. El began to think about how far Cait had come in their time together. When they had first met, Cait looked so sad and scared; ready to give up on life. But now, she had faced her fears and proved to every one of her tormenters that she was stronger than them. El couldn’t help but smile at everything Cait had achieved.

As El smiled, her eyes began to drift to some of Cait’s other features; her fiery red hair that appeared to glow in the daylight; her porcelain white cheeks that blushed bright pink when Cait was embarrassed or flustered; her adorable freckles; her bright red lips; her slender neck; her round plump breasts that looked close to bursting out of her tight leather corset. Cait was simply enchanting.

El’s mind suddenly went back to that dreadful morning when she had found Cait soaked in her own blood, vomit, and urine. At the time, her thoughts were on far more important things, but, tonight, she thought back to when she got Cait out of her dirty clothes. Focussing her memory as best she could, El remembered Cait’s supple body: how her breasts tumbled and bounced slightly when she unbuttoned her corset; her perfectly cemetrical arse that hugged every pair of trousers she wore; her perfectly flat stomach; her porcelain white skin; the thick patch of dark red hair that surrounded her vagina. As memories flooded back into her mind, El closed her eyes and she sighed contentedly.

Adjusting her position so she was lying down, El suddenly noticed an odd feeling coming from her chest. Opening her eyes, El looked down to find her nipples were poking through the vest she was wearing; they were as hard as bullets. Sensing another odd feeling, El lowered her hand to her pyjama shorts to find a large damp patch between her legs. As her fingers ran over the damp area her breath hitched, and she moaned contentedly. Biting her finger to stifle her moan, El chuckled playfully as she remembered how good this sensation felt.

Slipping her vest off, El’s large round breasts tumbled down and she cupped them gently in her hands. It felt good to massage her desirable breasts, and her sensitive aching nipples, after so long.

Realising that she needed more, El’s pyjama shorts soon joined her vest and she lay on her bed, completely naked. With nothing holding her back, El’s fingers immediately drifted down to her already wet and engorged clit. Stroking the patch of brown pubic hair between her legs, El bit her lip again to keep from giggling too much. Nate had always liked it when El didn’t shave down there; but that made her incredibly ticklish when he attempted to pleasure her. As her hand reached her clit, El’s hips bucked slightly and she began to move it around in a slow, but deeply pleasurable, circular motion; humming contentedly as she simultaneously pinched her aching nipples.

Hot waves of pleasure ripped through El’s body and she moaned loudly, unable to contain her arousal. Images of Cait’s beautiful body drove her pleasurable strokes further. How El longed to claim those lips for herself and show Cait what _true_ love was. How she dreamed of cupping Cait’s delectable breasts and sucking her nipples until they were red and sore. How she yearned to dive between Cait’s legs and taste the nectar that, she believed, oozed from deep within her sex.

All of these thoughts and feelings only built the pressure inside El’s core and she could tell that she was getting close. El’s breath was becoming faster and heavier; she didn’t know much longer she had. Intensifying her desire, El began pinching her erect nipples harder and she almost yelled with pleasure. She was slightly shocked at how sensitive her nipples were by this point; she wasn’t complaining, but they almost felt a little too sensitive. Returning to the task at hand, El just put it down to her level of arousal.

Suddenly, the damn broke and a tidal wave of pleasure erupted from within her core and quickly engulfed her entire body. Breathing heavily, El’s body shook violently as she rode out her orgasm. She had to use every ounce of her remaining brain power to keep from yelling. 

* * *

Cait needed more; whilst rubbing her clit, and massaging her breasts, was enjoyable, it wasn’t giving her enough of the pleasure she needed. Taking a deep breath, Cait moved her hand down passed her engorged clit and slowly slipped her middle finger inside her slick pussy. As she began sliding her finger in and out, Cait’s back twisted and contorted with pleasure. Simultaneously pinching her stiff nipples harder, Cait growled a throaty moan; the pleasure she was feeling was insatiable. 

But it still wasn’t enough, her actions just weren’t sufficient to quench the feelings of desire flowing through her mind. Cait could just imagine everything on El’s body that she yearned to claim as her own; her unirradiated lips; her smooth brown hair; her large full breasts; her juicy arse; her illusive and intoxicating pussy. Cait’s longing for all these things only made her desire worse.

With only one thing left to do, Cait’s ring finger soon joined her other inside her slick pussy. Simultaneously, Cait began to rub the palm of her hand over her swollen clit, moaning incessantly with every stroke. Now, heat started to quickly build inside Cait’s core, and her control started slipping away fast. Thick beads of sweat ran down Cait’s face and her breath was becoming unnaturally fast; the pressure was beginning to boil over.

Suddenly, warmth engulfed Cait’s body and she violently rocked back and forth. Knocking her head back, and panting heavily, Cait’s eyes began to roll behind their sockets as she rode out her orgasm. Cait lay there for several minutes, basking in the slowly diminishing waves of pleasure that reverberated through her body.

Once the last of her orgasm had ebbed away, Cait’s breath returned to normal and she slowly buttoned her pyjamas back up. But something was wrong, despite the waves of pleasure ebbing from her body, there remained an odd tugging sensation in her chest and stomach.

Cait had experienced this feeling before. She had first noticed it when El comforted her about her Psycho addiction. She remembered that the feeling made her happy, but very confused. This feeling was unfamiliar to Cait, it only ever occurred when she was close to, or thinking about El, and it left her unsure of what it meant. Now, however, the tugging feeling had grown so strong that it was almost painful.

With fear and confusion flooding into her mind, Cait closed her eyes and quietly hugged herself. Cait didn’t know what to do; this feeling was so strong and nothing she thought of could shake it. Cait was so confused, and that confusion made her sad.

Normally, Cait would have trampled these feelings under a wall of Psycho. But, now that her addiction was gone, for better or worse, Cait was forced to face these feelings head on. Whilst she was happy to be drug free, nothing prepared her for how strong these sensations would be. Maybe she should tell El about it; maybe _she_ could help her make sense of it? But Cait didn’t know what El would think of her if she did. El would probably think that Cait was being silly; and anyway, Cait’s feelings were coming from El in the first place. So how would telling her make things any better?

With her head ready to split open, Cait sat up quickly and reached down to her backpack, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Cait had quietly swiped the bottle from El’s liquor cabinet and stealthily placed it in her rucksack. Cait had never seen El drink before, so one bottle of whisky would probably not be missed. Unscrewing the cap, Cait immediately placed her lips around the top and took a long swig. If this didn’t dampen her emotions, Cait didn’t know what would. Before long, Cait had consumed just over a third of the bottle’s contents.

Noticing her eyelids growing heavier, Cait dopily screwed the cap back on the bottle and placed it on the small table next to her bed. Turning onto her side, Cait brought the covers over her and allowed her eyelids to slowly close. As she curled up in bed, she hoped, beyond hope, that her strange feelings surrounding El would go away. In one last action before sleep consumed her, Cait found her two photographs and hugged them tightly to her chest. 

* * *

El lay spread out naked on her bed, panting heavily, basking in the warming glow of her orgasm. El had not felt this _alive_ since the bombs fell and she absolutely loved it. As her breath and heart rate returned to a steady beat, El closed her eyes and chuckled happily to herself; feeling like a woman for the first time in over two-hundred years.

Whilst continuing to gently massage her breast, El suddenly felt a strange wet sensation on her right hand. Frowning, El opened her eyes and took her hand off her plump breast. To her surprise, there were odd liquid droplets peppering her fingers. The liquid was mostly clear but had a slightly white colour to it. El was immediately confused at this development. Following her orgasm, El’s left hand had been covered in the slick discharge of her pussy, but her right hand had remained firmly clamped on her breast. Why then were her fingers wet?

Apprehensively, El brought her right hand to her mouth and tasted the liquid. To her surprise, it tasted sweet… _very_ sweet. Looking down, El was stunned to find the same liquid slowly dripping down her nipple and onto her stomach. Curiosity suddenly turned to immense shock as El realised what the mysterious liquid was; it was… _milk_.

Traumatising images of Shaun and Nate suddenly flooded into El’s mind; thoughts of her life before the bombs; memories of loving Nate; loving Shaun; of caring for him; nursing him. In all her time since thawing out, El had not even considered that, even after two-hundred years of cryostasis, her body would behave like nothing had happened. Even without her baby, she was still a nursing mother.

As El tried to contemplate what she had just done, the feelings of pleasure that had enthralled her supple body instantly turned to ones of guilt and self-loathing. How could she have done something so selfish? Her husband had been murdered, and her infant son stolen away; and here _she_ was, lusting after an abused and vulnerable woman who had simply needed her help. 

Quickly turning her bedside lamp off, El curled herself up on her bed and, in shame, covered her breasts with her arms. Turning onto her side, El began to cry, convinced that the eyes of her dead friends and relatives were watching her in abject disgust.

“I’m s-sorry, Nate.” El whispered, through floods of tears. “I-I’m s-so sorry. I-I didn’t m-mean to. P-p-please forgive me."

But no answer came and El was left alone, naked in the dark, with only her tears. El cried herself to sleep that night, deep down, hating herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> Things are starting to bubble up. What are El and Cait going to do? 
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you can. As I say at the end of every chapter, it really helps me along.
> 
> Just a note of warning for the future. Unfortunately, I am coming close to the end of the chapters that I have written plans for. I have written plans for, I would say, the next two chapters. I know exactly where this story is going, and am setting up for some big reveals, but getting these ideas down into readable prose will, predictably take time. As a result, there may be delays in getting chapters eleven onwards uploaded. I hope you will understand. 
> 
> Anyway, stay safe and I'll see you all on the next chapter.


	9. Aching Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait try to make sense of their feelings for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Hope you are keeping safe. 
> 
> Please enjoy this new, extra long chapter. 
> 
> *WARNING* There is smut in this chapter. But, you know, this story is marked explicit. So, what do you expect.

“Could you pass the pliers?” El asked one of the minutemen as she sat at the workbench, her face scrunched up in concentration.

“Yes ma’am.” the minuteman said as he passed the pair of pliers lying just beyond El’s reach.

“Thanks.” El said, smiling slightly before returning to her work.

In the days after her return from Vault 95, El had been working as hard as she could to make progress on the teleporter. Whilst Sturges and some of the minutemen crew were happy with doing the heavy lifting, El sat at a workstation assembling parts and working the multitude of electrics that would be required to power the machine. El, obviously, helped with the construction when she could, but she was far more contented managing the teleporter’s internal operations.

El enjoyed this kind of work. It wasn’t the most glamorous part of the job, but it was necessary and kept her hands, and mind, occupied. Because, when she wasn’t working, El was thinking about a certain redhead whom had just thrown a giant spanner into her life.

A loud metallic clank jolted El away from her concentration and she looked up. At the other end of the workstation, El saw Cait hammering out a large piece of metal. In attempting to find ways of repaying El for her kindness, Cait had enquired about helping with the build. Graciously, Cait had accepted the job of shaping the metal frame for the teleportation pad. As someone well acquainted with the art of using brute force, Cait took to it like a duck to water.

El watched Cait as she stood back from her workbench to wipe her brow. Cait was absolutely soaked with sweat and rays of sunlight beamed off her glimmering skin. Shrugging her shoulders as she exhaled deeply, thick beads of sweat ran down her face and neck towards the glistening cleavage.

Watching Cait intently, El was finding it increasingly difficult to bring her eyes away. Cait had changed so much since their first meeting. Ever since kicking her addiction, Cait stood slightly taller than before, and she had put on weight. She still had a very slender figure, but her face looked slightly fuller than before. Observing all these changes, El could do nothing but reminisce about _that_ night; when Cait had made El feel so happy and alive. How El’s body rippled with the pleasurable thoughts of caressing Cait’s delectable figure.

El almost jumped out of her skin as she heard something clatter onto her workbench. Looking down, El found that, in her gormless ogling, her pair of pliers had slipped from her hands.

 _“El?”_ a voice called out from across her workbench. Looking up, El was startled to find Cait standing in front of her, a look of deep concern plastered across her sweaty face.

“Are you okay?” Cait asked. “you were starin’ into space and then you dropped your pliers.”

“Oh, urrr, yes, sorry, I was worlds away.” El stuttered as she looked down and quickly collected her pliers. She was desperately trying to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Owing to their history together, Cait was not convinced by El’s explanation. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a bit-.”

“I said I’m fine, Cait!” El snapped as she looked back up at Cait..

Standing back slightly, Cait was right to feel insulted. “Alright, fine! Was only tryin’ to be nice.” Cait huffed as she began to turn away.

Immediately Regretting her words, El tried forlornly to retrieve the situation. “C-Cait, I-.” El tried to say. But Cait was already gone and returned to hammering out the piece of metal on her workbench; considerably harder than before.

El bowed her head and closed her eyes, cursing silently under her breath. Scrunching up her face in frustration, El did everything she could to fight off tears. Why did she say that? Why did she have to be so awkward?

El was unsure why she had been so crotchety the past week. Over the past few nights, El’s stomach had been feeling off; a feeling she was quick to put down to indigestion. However, most of the time, El had been too afraid to sleep. Ever since masturbating to images of Cait, El would lay curled up in bed, sobbing as imaginary phantoms of her former friends and relatives judged and scowled at her in disgust. Every time El thought about Cait, the guilt-ridden phantoms of her past would force her to shamefully cover the private parts of her body. El felt like a sinner who was being punished for her infidelities.

Eventually, El couldn’t take anymore and she threw her pliers onto the workbench. Standing up, El began walking aimlessly down the street. She had no idea where she was going, but she just needed to get away and clear her head.

El had just made it passed her house when she heard footsteps approaching quickly behind her. _“El, where you goin'?”_ Cait’s voice called from behind her.

El wasn’t really sure how to answer. “I’m just going…for a walk.” she said without turning around.

“A-Are you comin’ back?” Cait asked worriedly.

El took a deep breath before replying. “Yeah…I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Oh…Okay.” Cait said feebly, bowing her head in embarrassment.

Sensing Cait’s embarrassment, El finally turned around and looked her in the eye. “I, I’m sorry I snapped at you, Cait. That wasn’t fair. I just…haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights.” El then put a hand on Cait’s shoulder and forced herself to smile. “But, don’t worry, I’ll be back in a bit. I just need to clear my head. Keep an eye out.”

Cait lowered her eyes and nodded, understanding El’s troubles all too well. There had been many occasions where Cait needed to go off and clear her head for whatever reason.

Taking her hand off Cait’s shoulder, El turned around and continued wandering aimlessly down the road. There was no plan, she just let her feet and mind drift her away.

* * *

Cait watched El walk away aimlessly down the dusty street and her face dropped in sadness. Another chance to talk to El had been shot down. Sighing solemnly to herself, Cait turned back around and made her way back to her workstation.

Cait desperately needed to talk to El, but, for the past week, El had been very distant. Ever since Cait had orgasmed to fantasies of her, El had been acting so awkward around her. She hardly ever looked her in the eye. She never wanted to watch movies with her; and she always seemed to be tired. Most of all, El’s hazel eyes never had that mesmerising glint in them. Cait could only wonder if this was all her fault. Did El know that Cait had masturbated to fantasies of her?

Cait shook her head in a feeble attempt to shake her thoughts as she returned to her workbench.

Resuming her work, Cait tried to concentrate. But, no matter how hard she swung her hammer, she could not shake the thoughts in her head. She _needed_ to tell El something; tell her about her feelings; the strange tugging sensation in her chest and stomach; and whether El felt the same.

But, Cait could not find the courage to speak. What if El didn’t feel the same way? What if it made her angry? What if El said that Cait was being stupid? What if El never came back?

Violently shaking her head again, Cait stepped back from her workbench to keep from spiralling any further. It was then that she observed that everyone was staring at her. “The fuck you all starin’ at?” Cait demanded, a deep scowl on her face.

Noticing that their eyes moved quickly to the workbench behind her, Cait turned to find the piece of metal she had been working bent completely out of shape. Looking back at the onlookers, Cait’s cheeks flashed red with embarrassment. “Piece of shit!” Cait grumbled to herself.

Throwing her hammer onto the bent piece of metal, Cait stormed off behind one of the empty houses; her head bowed and hugging herself to hide her embarrassment. Resting her back against the house’s outer wall, Cait slowly slid down onto the petrified grass and hugged her knees to her chest. Cait wanted to talk to El so much. Whenever Cait had a problem, El was always there to offer advice and support. But, now, El was the problem. With her eyes welling up, Cait buried her face in her knees; her mind ready to explode.

* * *

El did not know why she would want to return here. Vault 111 only held memories of pain and loss in El’s mind. But, with all that had happened in the past week, El needed to come here, if anything, to explain herself.

So, here she was, kneeling alone on the cold damp floor, with the frozen corpse of her late husband in front of her. It was incredibly hard for El to look at Nate’s corpse without breaking down in tears. But she needed to remain strong as she said her piece.

“Hi Nate.” El began after taking a deep breath. “I-It’s been a while. Well, two-hundred years to be more precise.” El chuckled to herself in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. But, after looking up at Nate’s motionless corpse, El quickly returned to the matter at hand. “It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind since I thawed out, if I’m honest. This world is unlike anything I could ever imagine. It’s both truly awful, yet full of hope. I also have some friends; at least, _I_ would call them friends…”

Eventually, El sighed; this small talk wasn’t getting her anywhere. Taking a deep breath, El readied herself for what came next. “Nate…I need to say it…I…I…I’ve met someone. I’m not sure what you would make of her, but I think you would like her. She’s very sweet once you get to know her. Her name is Cait. I met her in a cage fight, if you can believe that.” El chuckled at those words; she could almost hear Nate laughing at the silliness of El’s story. Nate always saw the humorous side of El’s escapades.

Eventually, El’s smile dropped; she couldn’t hold back anymore. “I’ve known her for a while now, and she’s…she’s…she’s _amazing!_ She’s fierce, strong, sweet, and…and…pretty. She’s…just… _so_ …pretty. I hardly noticed it at first, but, now, I can’t help but admire her. She has come so far since we met.” El’s waterlogged eyes were now close to breaking and she bowed her head in shame. Although her breasts were covered by her vault suit, El also clasped her hands over them; as if to appear modest. “But, last week, I…I was thinking about her in bed and I…I…I… _t-touched_ myself.”

At those words, El’s immediately spiralled and she began to panic. “P-please believe me, Nate. I-I-I d-didn’t mean to! Please, please forgive me! It’s just that, ever since thawing out, it’s been so…lonely; and Cait just makes me feel so…so… _alive!_ I…I can’t explain it, she just makes me feel so happy, so free, so…loved.” As she spoke, El hugged her arms to her chest, imagining they were Cait’s arms. She longed so much for Cait to hold her tight. “I just…want her so much; but not just her body; I want to hold her, comfort her, care for her, make her happy.”

El needed to stop herself from talking further. If she spoke anymore, El was sure that she would crack under the pressure. El needed to calm down and return to her original problem. “The thing is, Nate, I don’t know what to do. I want to tell her how I feel, but I don’t know whether she feels the same way about me. What if I tell her and I scare her off? Then I’ll truly be alone.” El closed her eyes and let a solitary tear stream down her cheek. “Part of me is also terrified that, if I do tell her, I would be betraying you and Shaun. Yes, you died years ago, but, for me, it only feels like yesterday. But, after everything I've done for Cait, I feel bound to her. Does this make me a bad person; for wanting to…move on?”

Looking back up at Nate’s body, El wanted nothing more than some sage advice that would set her mind at ease. But not reply came and El stared at nothing but an unmoving corpse. At this point, the damn broke and El could not contain herself anymore. “FOR FUCK SAKE, NATE! SAY SOMETHING, ANYTHING! JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”

Tears flowed freely down El’s cheeks and she bowed her head to the floor as she wailed. Despite being alone, El didn’t care if anyone heard her. As she wept, El half expected some divine entity to smite her for her adulterous thoughts. If anyone deserved damnation, it was her. As far as El was concerned, in the relatively short time since thawing out, she had abandoned her husband and son for a vulnerable woman still trying to find her place in the Commonwealth.

But no damnation came and El, once again, found herself alone in this cold, dark vault. El had no idea how long she had been kneeling there, but, eventually, El had no more tears left to cry. Looking up again at Nate’s cold unfeeling body, El’s face hardened and she got to her feet.

Taking a deep but shaky breath, El stood at full height and made her decision. “Nate, I love you. I always have, and I always will. But, you’re gone, and Cait needs me.” Taking another deep breath, El closed her eyes. “And I need her. And if I lose Cait as a result, that is something I will need to face myself.” El knew that, now, there was no turning back.

El began to walk away slowly from the cryochamber, keeping her head high to symbolise her decisiveness. However, after taking a few steps, she looked back at Nate’s cryopod and took a deep breath. “I _will_ find Shaun. I promise you that. And when I find him, I will give you the burial you deserve.” El said commandingly.

With her declaration, El left Vault 111, for the first time in weeks, knowing exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

El emerged from Vault 111 and surveyed the landscape in front of her. The sun was, by this point in the day, dwindling low in the sky; signalling that evening was fast approaching. El frowned at what she had been doing. _“How long was I down there?”_ she thought to herself. Realising that it was probably best not to dwell, El turned away and descended the hill back to Sanctuary.

As El reached the teleporter workshop, El looked around the minutemen packing their tools away for the evening. Despite looking around, Cait was nowhere to be seen. “Hey, guys?” El asked slightly shyly. “H-have any of you seen Cait around?”

“She’s in the house, ma’am. I don’t mean to pry, but she seemed to have something on her mind.” one of the minutemen answered.

El nodded and gave a small toothless smile. “Okay, thanks guys. Have a good evening.” Walking towards the house, El wondered what problem Cait could have on her mind.

Upon entering the front door, El was immediately greeted by Cait sitting uneasily on the couch. Turning her head to look at her, Cait stood up instantly and began walking around towards El. _“Oh no!”_ El thought to herself as Cait closed the gap between them. El needed to think of something quick. “H-hi Cait. How are you doing?” El stuttered, not knowing what else to say.

Cait eventually stopped and stood awkwardly in front of El, nervously fidgeting to herself. “Urrr, fine, fine.” Cait stammered, placing her arms behind her back to hide her fidgeting. Normally, Cait would have done that to accentuate her bust. However, today, Cait was also looking around aimlessly at anything other than El; her cheeks bright red. Cait’s nervousness clearly made her look completely innocent and sweet. “I-I was just wondered if…maybe we could…urrr…I-I mean…I-if it’s no trouble… t-that we could maybe…urrrm…you know…I mean, only if you say yes…that we might…urrrm…maybe…urrr…” Cait trailed off as she struggled to find the right words.

El smiled but needed to stop Cait from rambling. Cait always rambled when she was flustered or unsure about something. “Cait, Cait, just relax. Just take a deep breath and find your words.” El said slowly and calmly.

Cat nodded and took several deep breaths. Once calmer, and able to look El in the eye, Cait continued. “C-can, can we talk?” she stammered, shaking slightly as she spoke.

El stepped back slightly, surprised by Cait’s question. “Urrm, y-yes, of course we can. I’m here now if you would like to talk.” El said with a friendly smile, her arms slightly outstretched in a mock embrace.

“No, no, I need…some time…t-to find my words.” Cait stuttered as she shook her head violently. Cait’s eyes soon returned to looking at her feet. 

Understanding her predicament, El nodded. “Alright, Cait. Take your time and find the words you want to say. Look, I’m going to take a shower, but, maybe we can talk later.” she said reassuringly.

Lifting her head, Cait nodded and gave a happy smile. “Yeah, okay. I’ve already had one, b-but I’m sure you c-can have one as well…I-I mean, of course you have one…it’s y-your house…I was j-just tellin’ you that, that…” Cait trailed off again.

Greatly amused by her friend’s bumbling, El chuckled and took a step forward. “Cait, you’re rambling again.” El said amusedly to calm Cait down.

Realising how silly she looked, Cait looked up at El and immediately stopped herself. “Oh, right, sorry.” Cait said, her cheeks now bright pink. Cait was, however, not done, and her vision soon returned to her feet. “T-there was just one thing. W-when you’re done, c-could you…urrrm…b-brush, brush my hair? I-I kinda like how it feels.” Cait said as she quickly tucked a few loose strands behind her ear.

Smiling at how adorable her friend was at this point, El brought her hand under Cait’s chin and raised her head. “Sure.” El said, that mesmerising glint returning to her eyes.

“T-thanks.” Cait stuttered and smiled bashfully before turning around and shuffling off quickly down the corridor to her bedroom.

 _“Maybe I won’t need to make the first move.”_ El thought to herself as she watched Cait walk away.

* * *

El sat on her bed reading her book, subconsciously waiting for Cait to approach her. Cait had been very quiet the entire evening; she had said nothing whilst El brushed her hair and she had eaten dinner in almost complete silence. Despite El’s door remaining open, she wondered whether Cait would ever appear. It was already getting quite late and El wondered if she had the mental capacity to stay up any longer.

A quiet knock at her door shocked El back to reality and she turned her head to find Cait standing nervously in the doorway. She looked as if she expected El to send her away. She was wearing a dark green button up shirt and a pair of blue denim short shorts that she liked to wear around the house. Cait had found them during their trip to, of all places, Vault 95, but Cait seemed to like them. El always thought that Cait suited green. “Cait!” El said, smiling as she closed her book. “Come in. Close the door and have a seat.” El patted a section of the bed in front of her.

“T-thanks.” Cait stuttered as she closed the door behind her. Climbing tentatively on the bed, Cait was more than ready to make a quick exit if things went south. Much to Cait’s surprise, however, El then shifted so she was sitting cross-legged next to her on the bed.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” El asked with a friendly toothless smile.

Cait immediately began to fidget, very aware of how close together they were. “Urrm, well, a lot of things. But this isn’t easy for me to say. So, I want to get it right.”

“Sure, just take your time.” El said, nodding compassionately.

Sighing heavily, Cait swallowed as she began. “Where do I begin? Did you know I spent three years fightin’ in the Combat Zone?”

“You have mentioned it, yes.” El said as she tilted her head, implying that she was aware.

Cait exhaled sharply through her nose, imitating a chuckle. “Yeah, well, you probably have a good idea of what it was like livin’ there. Three years of gettin’ beaten to hell by a bunch of scumbags. After the fights were over, I’d spit out the blood, stitch my wounds, and a couple of rounds of Psycho to take the edge off.” Cait’s face soon scrunched up in mild anger. “I fuckin’ hated it! I hated the crowds. I hated the other fighters. But, most of all, I hated myself. All I wanted was for one of my opponents to crush the life out of me; the easy way out.”

Eventually, Cait looked down and started playing with the hem of her shirt. El could see that there was something that Cait was trying to hold back from saying. Shuffling closer, Cait’s breath hitched slightly and she continued. “T-there were days when things got really bad; so bad that, well, on the day I met you, I was sittin’ on my shitty excuse for a bed, starin’ down the barrel of my own shotgun. I don’t know why I didn’t pull the trigger. I suppose I was holdin’ out for one piece of humanity in this shithole we call a world.” By this point, despite it being relatively warm in El’s room, Cait was starting to shiver.

El was trying desperately to remain silent as Cait spoke. All she wanted to do was take Cait in her arms and show her the love that she deserved. But El needed to hold back and let Cait speak.

“But now,” Cait continued, “with all the stuff you’ve done for me - pickin’ up my contract, feedin’ me, buyin’ me clothes, savin’ my life in the Castle, curin’ my addiction – that seemed like the answer to those prayers. That’s the first time in my life that I’ve put my faith in someone else, and they didn’t let me down.” Upon glancing at El, Cait’s cheeks went bright red and she looked away. “Fuck. I’m makin’ a mess of this.” Cait whispered.

Noticing Cait’s struggle, El moved her legs and shuffled closer. “You’re doing fine, Cait. just let it all out. Speak your mind.” she said reassuringly.

Cait nodded, desperately trying to hold it together. “Okay. I-I just need to be gettin’ to the point.” As she hunched her shoulders over slightly, Cait continued. “The longer we’ve been spendin’ time together, the more I’ve come to realise what you mean to me. And I don’t just mean you watchin’ my back or sharin’ a drink together, I mean more than that. Before we met, I’d never let my guard down around anyone, I didn’t dare. But, for the first time in my life, I feel I can open up and let you see me for everythin’ I am, for better or worse.”

Seeing this as her chance, El opened her mouth to speak. Cait, however, interpreted this as El setting up to reject her and immediately interjected. “Look, I can’t go back to the way things were before we met. I won’t! But what I need you to do is look me in the eyes and tell me you feel somethin’ too.”

Realising that she had effectively shown her hand, Cait’s mind began to spiral and panic set in. “I-It’s just that, lately, I’ve been gettin’ this weird painful feelin’ in my chest and stomach. I-I don’t know it is. I’ve never had it before. B-but, every time I think of you, I get this tuggin’ feelin' in my chest, and I get all confused ‘cause I don’t know what it is. D-do you get this feelin’ as well? Am I just bein’ stupid?” Cait’s speech was getting faster and faster as she spiralled further.

“I do.” El said bluntly, bringing the speeding train inside Cait’s mind to a grinding halt. El’s face remained unchanged, but, behind her visage, El couldn’t have been happier. Whilst listening to Cait vent her soul, El felt like all her dreams had suddenly come true.

Cait’s eyes widened, completely dumbfounded by El’s declaration. Part of her thought that she had misheard something. “Y-y-you…What?” she stuttered.

El shuffled again so she was as close to Cait as possible and she took her hand. “Cait, I know exactly how you feel. I feel the same about you. And, this painful feeling in chest, I’ve had the same feeling about you. And-.”

“But what is it!” Cait shouted, sounding close to tears. “I don’t know what it is!”

“It’s love, Cait. What you’re feeling is love. I’m in love with you.” Finally, able to speak _her_ mind, El smiled and clutched Cait’s hand tightly.

Cait’s eyes exploded with shock as she processed this information. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing; someone _loved_ her? It couldn’t be true. “W-What? Y-You’re in love with me? I…I…I mean…I didn’t know.” Cait’s cheeks suddenly went as pink as candy floss. “W-Why? Why would you fall in love with a waste of space like me?” Cait asked despondently.

El was herself shocked by Cait’s reaction. Cait was anything _but_ a waste of space. “Because you’re special to me, Cait. You just make me feel so happy. I…I don’t think I could be happier with anybody else.” As El spoke, tears were starting to well up in her eyes.

Despite wanting nothing more than to wrap herself in El’s loving arms, Cait still thought that she was being tricked in some way. After so many years of misery, Cait still couldn’t shake her fears. “I…I don’t know what to say. I’m not supposed to be loved. I’m just a loud, stupid, ex-junkie.” Cait looked down, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

El needed to regain control of the situation. If Cait didn’t accept her feelings, she would never be able to put her past behind her. “Cait, listen to me.” Taking a deep breath, El decided that going all in was her only option. “I’m…I’m going to try something, alright? Please…don’t hit me, okay?’

Cait looked up apprehensively but nodded.

Swallowing audibly, El shuffled ever so slightly closer to Cait and tentatively placed a hand on her cheek. Risking everything, El then leaned forward and gently pressed her lips onto Cait’s.

As their lips touched, Cait’s body trembled and she whimpered slightly in shock. El's kiss was unlike anything Cait had felt before. Her lips are so soft. The emotions behind her kiss were also unlike anything Cait had experienced before. There was no force, only genuine love. As a novice in the ways of love, Cait was almost completely unsure of what to do. However, after a few seconds, she relaxed and closed her eyes.

El could not believe what was happening. After all this time, she was finally kissing Cait; this woman whom had followed her around the Commonwealth; this woman whom had spoken to her about her darkest demons; this woman whom had smashed her way into her life and was here to stay.

After what seemed like an age, El finally withdrew and sat back on the bed. An eerie silence then fell over the room as both women stared at each other. Cait’s face was one of utter disbelief. “How did that feel?” El asked, breaking the silence.

Before El could even react, Cait crashed into her and crushed her lips on hers. El could barely breath as Cait pressed kiss after kiss onto El’s lips. El’s gamble appeared to have paid off.

Immediately reacting to Cait’s frantic kissing, El lifted Cait up and manoeuvred her onto her lap. Cait, instinctively, wrapped her legs around El’s waist and continued to kiss her deeply and run her fingers through El’s soft hair. Similarly, El’s arms were lovingly wrapped around the back of Cait’s slender neck and waist as she brought her as close as she possibly could.

Eventually, both women were forced to pull away as they tried to catch their breath. Panting heavily, El and Cait stared at each other as they both tried to process what had just happened. The silence between them was palpable; both women were clearly waiting to make the next step. Throughout it all El stroked Cait’s soft red hair and tucked rough strands behind her ear.

As her breath slowly returned to normal, Cait’s hand soon began drifting under El’s vest; her fingers running over El’s smooth unirradiated skin. The movement was intimate but betrayed Cait’s ulterior motive; she wanted El’s clothes off. El sensed Cait’s motive and similarly started running her fingers up Cait’s shirt, slowly working upwards as she tagged at its buttons.

But, as she sensed Cait’s desire, El decided that Cait deserved to see her first. Drawing away, El crossed her arms around the hem of her vest and pulled the garment up over her head. Finally, free of their confinement, El’s large mouth-watering breasts tumbled downwards, bouncing slightly as they returned to their original position. Throwing her vest off the bed, El pressed her shoulders together slightly, extenuating her bust, and looked down at Cait half-expectantly.

Cait’s eyes widened and her mouth opened gormlessly. El's breasts were huge. Sitting like two identical pale globes on her chest, El’s breasts were as they had been in Cait's dreams. Cait could only wonder how El was able to find any clothes that would fit her. They also left Cait with even more questions of how Else was able to fight as well as she could. Cait's own breasts were large, but nothing compared to what lay infront of her. Cait's mouth began to salivate as she stared.

Similar to what Cait had dreamt, atop El’s succulent breasts, her erect nipples sat yearning to be pinched and suckled. Cait was slightly intrigued at their colour; they were a little browner than she had anticipated. But Cait didn’t mind one bit.

“You can touch them if you like.” El said with a friendly but incredibly lustful smile. Taking Cait’s hand, El guided it until Cait’s palm rested firmly on her left breast. As soon as contact was made, El’s breath hitched and she stifled a moan.

Following El’s initiative, Cait’s other hand clamped around El’s right breast and began to gently knead its soft milky flesh. As Cait’s hands carrased over her delectable breasts, and sensitive nipples, El’s head arched backwards and she moaned loudly. El was in absolute heaven as this woman she loved hypnotically massaged her breasts. Sharp waves of pleasure then shot through her body as Cait's hands rubbed across El’s erect nipples.

But El was not satisfied with just Cait’s hands. Looking back at Cait, El brought her hands around the back of Cait’s head and firmly pressed it in between her breasts. Moaning loudly as Cait’s lips touched her skin, El arched her head back again and sighed contentedly.

Initially, Cait squirmed slightly as her head was forcibly pressed between El’s breasts. However, within seconds, Cait settled and she began gently kissing the sensitive skin around El’s nipples. El almost yelled as one of her erect nipples was pinched sharply between Cait’s lips. _“Yes, Cait. Suck them…”_ El whispered as small primal moans escaped the back of her throat. If El didn’t bring the situation under control, she would probably cum right there; her underwear was certainly wet enough.

Pulling away, El looked at Cait in complete amazement. Having Cait massage and suckle her breasts was something that she had only dreamt about. But, now, for the first time since thawing out, her dreams had actually come true. _“Wow,”_ El whispered, “That…that was… _incredible_.”

“They’re…they’re just _so_ amazin’.” Cait replied, still gently cupping El’s breasts in her hands.

Much against her wishes, El took Cait’s wrists and dislodged them from her breasts. Cait’s eyes remained fixed on El’s breasts as they jiggled slightly from the release of her hands. El chuckled mischievously, marvelling in the control she held over Cait. Then, running her hands up Cait’s shirt, El began undoing its buttons. “I think I need to return the favour.” El said, planting a teasing kiss on Cait’s lips. 

Owing to the ease at which El undid the buttons, Cait quickly shrugged her shirt off and threw it off the bed. She then unclipped her bra, exposing her bare breasts. Bouncing slightly as the material was pulled away, Cait’s pale breasts tumbled downwards and Cait shivered slightly.

Looking down at the woman in her lap, El pulled a face almost a mirror image of Cait’s. Whilst they were not as big as El’s, Cait’s porcelain white breasts were just as tantalising. Two white globes peppered with small, adorable, brown freckles led to a pair of pale pink nipples that stuck out erectly like the dials of a radio. El exhaled sharply as she marvelled at Cait’s beautiful chest.

Aware of El’s own amazing body, Cait hunched her shoulders over and looked down. “Not as good as yours.” Cait said shyly as her breasts pressed together.

Shocked out of her hypnosis El immediately wrapped an arm around Cait's waist and used her other to raise Cait's chin to face her. “Hey,” El said reassuringly, “Size doesn’t always matter. They’re still beautiful.” El then brought her arms back and tentatively cupped her hands around Cait’s milky breasts. Cait let out a growl-like moan as El immediately lowered her head and closed her lips around one of her nipples. Ripples of pleasure pierced Cait’s body when El gently nipped Cait’s right nipple between her teeth and pinched the other between her fingers. Cait had to grip El’s shoulders to keep from squirming too much as El suckled her breasts.

After several intoxicating minutes, El pulled away from Cait’s aching nipples and panted heavily. A loving, but deeply mischievous smile was plastered across El’s face and her eyes were burning a deep hazel that Cait had never seen before. Cait could hardly ever tell what El was thinking, but she could not look away from the burning in El’s eyes.

“God, I love you, Cait.” El eventually said, gently stroking Cait’s cheek.

“I love you too.” Cait replied as she leaned in and kissed El passionately.

As they kissed deeply, El’s hands began moving down Cait’s body until they came to her shorts. Pulling away, El rested her forehead against Cait’s. “I think it’s time we took these clothes off.” El said roguishly as she gently tugged the hem of Cait’s shorts.

Cait could not help but chuckle slightly and she smiled happily.

Almost immediately, El wrapped her arms around Cait’s waist and lifted her up. As Cait’s legs were still firmly locked around El’s waist, keeping hold of her was relatively easy. Placing loving kisses on each other’s lips, El swivelled around and began lowering Cait back onto the bed. As soon as Cait’s back touched the sheets, her legs dislodged, and she lay ready for what came next.

Unhooking her arms from her waist, El rose up and moved her hands down to Cait’s shorts. After undoing the buttons, and lowering the zip, El pulled the shorts down Cait’s legs; carefully hooking her fingers around Cait’s underwear to bring them down simultaneously. Throwing Cait’s shorts onto the floor, El’s breath hitched as Cait slowly opened her legs.

Befalling El was a sight of pure intoxication. Between Cait’s porcelain white legs, like a blooming flower, lay her slick vagina, already dripping wet from El’s previous actions. Surrounding her slick entrance was a thick patch of hair a shade or two darker than the hair on Cait’s head. Observing El’s hypnotised gaze, Cait’s eyes flashed playfully with lust. “What are you waitin’ for?” she said as her fingers began stroking the thick patch of hair surrounding her pussy.

Reacting immediately, El quickly pulled off her pyjama shorts and knelt before Cait. Both women were now completely naked and staring at each other intensely. Cait found it hard to look at El without her gaze drifting down to the thick patch of brown hair between her legs. As El’s legs were still closed, Cait was unable to see much, but hoped she would soon. She could, however, see the glint of a clear liquid running down El’s left leg. Cait bit her lip in anticipation as she surmised that El was dripping wet.

Suddenly, El crawled over Cait and kissed her deeply on the lips. Cait hummed contentedly as El’s hand ran up her surprisingly muscular leg and gently cupped one side of her arse. Her other hand lay firmly clamped around one of Cait’s succulent breasts, gently kneading its sensitive flesh . El’s mouth then descended and peppered loving kisses around Cait’s slender neck. With every kiss the anticipation in Cait’s body was slowly building. With one hand on her back, Cait’s other hand lovingly, but firmly, raked through El’s hair, willing her to kiss harder and more frequently.

Moving down, El’s lips then reached the gap between Cait’s breasts. However, as El had dedicated much energy to this area already, she soon moved steadily downwards, lovingly tracing the line of Cait's scar with her kisses. As El reached Cait’s flat stomach, Cait tried desperately to keep from laughing too much. Cait was highly conscious of how ticklish her belly was, especially the area around her belly button. Noticing this phenomenon, El glanced up, “Someone’s ticklish.” El said, chuckling to herself.

Cait looked at El bashfully as her already red cheeks went the colour of a freshly boiled lobster. “J-just a little.” Cait said timidly.

Smiling at Cait’s bashfulness, El soon resumed her journey and continued peppering kisses around Cait’s stomach. El’s heart leapt as she heard little laughs and giggles slip out between Cait’s moans of pleasure.

Continuing further, El eventually reached the thick patch of hair surrounding Cait’s pussy. As her lips peppered the strands of hair, El inhaled deeply and took in the scent of her lover. El could smell the arousal emanating from Cait. It was a smell of desire, but there was something else that made it uniquely Cait. El groaned lustfully to herself as she took in the noxiously intoxicating smell.

As El got closer and closer, Cait was trying desperately to hold on. The pressure inside her was now strong, much stronger than when she had masturbated to El. Cait needed to try and calm down. If she came now, the spell would be broken. Steadying her increasingly fast breathing, Cait attempted to regain control of her arousal.

That, however, was easier said than done. In one final teasing move, El descended further and began kissing up the soft flesh of Cait’s inner thigh. With every kiss, the pressure built and intensified and sparks of pleasure shocked Cait’s body. As Cait’s hand continued raking through El’s hair, its grip on her scalp only grew stronger as the pleasure intensified.

Then, suddenly, Cait almost screamed as El drove between her legs and ran her tongue over Cait’s engorged clitoris. Cait’s hips instinctively bucked and shook as new waves of pleasure shot through her body and sent her mind spiralling. If El kept this going, Cait would be done in minutes. _“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”_ Cait whispered in quick succession as her spine arched and contorted with pleasure.

Cait’s pussy was utterly intoxicating for El. With every movement of her probing tongue, El could taste the sweet slick essence of Cait’s arousal. As one lick of Cait’s pink folds would lap up one droplet of sweet desire, another would appear and need similar treatment. Cait was simply delicious. To keep Cait’s hips from bucking too much, El hooked her arms under Cait’s legs to hold her down on the bed. This precaution, however, took a lot of energy as Cait, despite her slim figure, was surprisingly muscular.

Cait was losing control, having already worked herself up imagining El pleasuring her, the real thing was sending her dangerously close to the edge. By this point, thick beads of sweat were running down Cait’s forehead. She wanted El to slow down, but, at the same time, didn’t want her to stop. _“El, I…I…I d-don’t know h-how much m-more I…I can t-take.”_ Cait panted through heavy breaths.

El slowly lifted her head from Cait’s pussy, relieving some of the building pressure on Cait’s core. There was a look of concern in El’s eyes as she looked up. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked.

Not wanted this rollercoaster of pleasure to end, Cait shook her head vigorously.

“Very well then.” El said as she returned to her task, gently stroking the soft flesh of Cait’s inner thighs. There was a smug smirk on El’s face and Cait wondered what that meant.

Cait’s bucking hips almost catapulted her off the bed and she let out a breathless scream as, suddenly, El stuck her tongue inside her pussy. _“FUCK, EL!”_ Cait screamed breathlessly as El’s tongue swirled around inside her slick passage, collecting the sweet nectar that it secreted within. Cait’s toes began to curl as the pressure started to boil over.

A hot wave of pleasure then suddenly erupted within her core and enveloped Cait’s entire body. Succumbing to the euphoria, Cait’s body shook violently and her legs clamped tightly around El’s head. Throughout the entire experience, El’s mouth remained firmly locked around Cait’s pussy, sending small extra waves of pleasure through Cait’s enflamed body.

After several intoxicating seconds, the waves of pleasure began to dissipate and Cait’s body settled back on the bed. Cait lightheadedly looked up at the ceiling and seemed ready to pass out. The entire bottom half of her body was completely numb.

Finally detaching from Cait’s delectable pussy, El crawled back up to face Cait and kissed her deeply. The taste of her pussy was still on El’s lips and Cait hummed contentedly. “How was that?” El asked as she pulled her lips away.

Still completely dumbfounded by the intensity of her orgasm, Cait found it difficult to formulate her words. “I…I…I can’t feel my legs.” Cait said dopily.

El gave a friendly, but slightly evil, chuckle as she stroked Cait’s cheek. “You taste so good.” El said, licking her lips.

Cait looked down bashfully and smiled as her cheeks went red. She was trying to contain a slightly childish giggle. Cait’s smile then dropped, “I guess it’s time for me to return the favour.” she said as she attempted to move her numb legs.

Sensing that Cait saw this a repaying a debt, El held her still. “Hey, you don’t have to. I can wait.” El said with a loving smile.

“No, no, I want to. Just…lie back.” Cait said, gently pushing El off her. As much as she appreciated El’s loving concern, she wanted nothing more than to taste El. She had not spent a week dreaming of this moment only to pass out when the chance arose.

El obediently rolled off Cait and lay back next to her. Willing her limbs to move, Cait manoeuvred herself so that she was on top of El. After planting a deep kiss of El’s luscious pre-war lips, Cait descended quickly to the area between El’s legs. Cait wanted nothing more than to copy what El had done along her body. But, El’s pleasure giving had drained almost all her energy. Hopefully, El would understand.

Cait’s mouth visibly salivated as El slowly spread her legs in front of her. Between a thick patch of smooth brown hair was a blooming pink flower that just yearned to be pleasured. As Cait ogled, a small droplet of clear liquid oozed from within El’s slick passage and ran down her perennial. Cait, however, frowned slightly she observed the hair surrounding El’s mouth-watering pussy. The hair was thick but looked more trimmed and managed than Cait’s. Did El trim down there? No wonder El took so long in the shower. Lowering herself onto her stomach, Cait licked her lips as her head disappeared between El’s muscular legs.

As Cait’s nose touched the soft hairs above her clit, El’s eyes widened as a funny feeling ran up her body. “C-Cait, please be careful. I’m-,” El could not finish as she let a childish giggle escape her lips. El closed her legs shut to stifle the feelings.

Cait immediately looked up, concerned that she had upset El in some way. Still trying to contain her laughter, El reassured Cait. “Sorry, Cait. My…my hair is really ticklish down there.” El said as her cheeks went bright red.

Testing this theory, Cait slowly eased El’s legs back open and gently ran her fingers over El’s thick patch of hair. As if by magic, El’s hips bucked and she giggled bashfully. It was now Cait’s turn to give an evil lecherous grin; she could get used to this. Returning to the matter at hand, Cait opened her mouth and made tantalising contact with El’s dripping pussy. 

A deep throaty moan escaped El as Cait’s tongue circled her engorged clit. Clamping her hands around her glistening breasts, El pinched her erect nipples as Cait sent powerful shocks of pleasure snaking through her body. The feel of Cait’s rough tongue on her sensitive pussy was just incredible. Cait was somewhat rougher in her movements than she was, but El did not mind one bit. Just as long as Cait was pleasuring her.

As her tongue probed and lapped its way through her pussy, Cait could not help but marvel at how good El tasted. She was so sweet; so nourishing; so pure; like a shot of sweet rum. This was what a pre-war woman tasted like: absolutely delicious. The lustful smell emanating from El was also inebriating for Cait. A strange mixture of desire, sweat, and something unique to El, sent Cait into an almost hallucinogenic state as she probed the slick folds of El’s pussy.

With Cait’s lovingly rough movements on her pussy, and her own actions on her erect nipples, El was beginning to succumb to her pleasure. Heat was rapidly building in El’s core and large droplets of sweat were falling down her now glistening skin. As every moan escaped her lips, El’s breathing became faster and faster, _"Oh, Cait. I’m close. I’m s-so close.”_ El said breathlessly.

Reacting to this, Cait’s tongue immediately returned to El’s clit and she probed it in long penetrating circles. If El was going to cum, Cait was going to make her cum now. Moaning loudly, El’s spine contorted and her head arched backwards as the pleasure became almost uncontrollable. El had, at best, seconds.

Then, suddenly, the damn broke and a hot wave of desire washed over El’s body. Pinching her nipples roughly between her fingers, El moaned loudly as she rode out the warm waves rippling around her body. As Cait’s mouth remained locked on El’s clit, El herself seemed to have entered Nirvana. Similarly clamping her legs around Cait’s head, El’s body shook wildly and her eyes looked close to rolling behind their sockets.

Eventually, the intensity of El’s orgasm dissipated and her body once again settled on the bed. Taking a hand off her breast, El wiped the sweat from her forehead and tucked several damp strands of hair behind her ear. El’s eyes remained firmly fixed on the ceiling as she tried to regain control of her senses.

Soon, Cait rose up from El’s delicious pussy and crawled up to lie next to El. With her breath returning to a normal pattern, El turned to look at the sly smile on Cait’s lips. “That…was…amazing.” El said dopily.

Cait chuckled to herself as she marvelled at her work. Cait congratulated herself as she was able to turn El, a literal superhero in her mind, into a hot bubbling mess. Even heroes had their weaknesses, it seemed.

El’s eyelids soon began growing heavy as she lay next to Cait. “God, Cait. I would love to keep this going, but you have completely worn me out.” El said, rubbing her eyes.

Cait had to admit, she was herself completely exhausted from the orgasm El had given her. She could do with some sleep as well. “Okay.” Cait said quietly and she slowly began moving out of the bed. Her head, however, was bowed and her face looked solemn

El frowned and quickly put her arm around Cait’s waist. “Cait, where are you going?” she asked, both concerned and confused.

Cait looked away, not wanting to look El in the eye. “B-back to my room.” Cait said timidly.

El’s mouth opened in shock. She didn’t even think about that. Tightening her grip around Cait’s waist, El brought her close. “No, Cait. You’re staying here with me. This is your bed now. You sleep in here with me.” El said, staring deep into Cait’s eyes. 

Immediately wanting to cry because of El’s love, Cait grabbed El’s head and kissed her deeply. Both women could still taste each other on their lips, and it was invigorating. Cait hummed and whimpered slightly as she delighted in El’s loving embrace.

Eventually pulling away, El stroked Cait’s pale cheek and rested her forehead against Cait’s. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep.” El said stroking Cait’s leg.

Cait nodded and began adjusting herself to lie down. Apart from leaving momentarily to switch off the bedside lamp and bring the covers over the two of them, El’s arm did not leave Cait’s waist and her back was soon snuggled up against El's chest. Owing to Cait’s size and needs, El was quite happy being the big spoon. Settling down into a comfortable position, Cait gripped El’s hand wrapped around her waist and squeezed it tight. El returned the favour by planting a loving kiss on the back of Cait’s shoulder. “Goodnight, Cait.” El whispered in Cait’s ear.

Squeezing her hand again, Cait turned her head slightly towards El. “’Night. I…I love you.” she whispered quickly before turning her head back.

El smiled and snuggled as close to Cait as she could. “I love you too.” she whispered, planting another kiss on Cait’s shoulder.

Waiting until Cait’s breath settled into a steady rhythm, El surmised that Cait was sound asleep. As her head rested against her pillow, and sleep quickly enveloped her, El could not contain the happy smile that covered her lips. For the first time in two-hundred years, El had something to love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! What a thrill ride! 
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed that chapter. It was certainly a long one. I ended up with eight pages of smut. Crikey, sex scenes really increase the word and page count! 
> 
> Yep, El and Cait, at long last, found each other! Even I am so happy. I've wanted to get to this chapter for so long! Where will it take them now? 
> 
> I was incredibly daunted by writing the sex scene. However, once I got started (pun not intended), it was relatively easy going. I will, however, apologize if the writing is bad. Sex scenes are sooo hard (again, pun not intended).
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you an. As I say at the end of every chapter, it really helps me along - especially comments. It's lovely to read your thoughts and reactions. I never imagined some of the heartfelt comments I've read so far. 
> 
> Anyway, stay safe and i'll see you all on the next chapter.


	10. Bumps in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So soon after finding each other, unexpected surprises from El's past threaten to rip her relationship with Cait apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. Hope you are all safe, wherever you are. 
> 
> Please enjoy this next chapter.

Cait awoke from what part of her thought must have been a dream. There were no nightmares, no aching hearts, and no tears. There was only her and a beautiful woman next to her.

Seeking to confirm beyond any doubt where she was, Cait’s eyes darted around her surroundings. None of this could be true. Cait was supposed to die an inconsequential death somewhere that nobody would care to look. But here she was, lying in a soft warm bed, with El – the most beautiful woman in the Commonwealth – holding her in a loving embrace.

Turning her head slightly to look behind, Cait befell the woman next to her. Sleeping soundly next to her was El, her hero, her pronounced chest steadily rising and falling with her breathing. Cait could not help but marvel at how beautiful El was, even in the morning. There were no puffy lips, no saliva drooling down her mouth, no unkept hair. Cait wished she could look that good even when she was in bed. Looking down, Cait followed El’s left arm as it snaked its way around Cait’s waist until she saw El’s hand intertwined with hers. The grip of El’s soft pre-war skin was firm, but in no way forceful.

As she turned her head back to face ahead, Cait's eyes began to water and she started to sniffle. Wiping her eyes with her free hand, Cait had never felt safer in her entire life. Cait wanted to stay like this forever. God, she better not start crying.

Suddenly, El hummed and shifted her position slightly. “Good morning.” El said affectionately as she leaned her head over Cait’s body.

Wiping her watering eyes, Cait smiled and looked up at El. “M-mornin’.” she said through sharp breaths.

Sensing Cait’s watered eyes, El frowned. “Cait, are you alright?” El asked as she cuddled Cait closer.

“I-I’m okay.” Cait replied, sniffling slightly. “Just…just…hold me.”

El smiled and unclasped her hand from Cait’s and wrapped it as tightly around her waist as she could. As their skin touched, El began peppering small kisses on Cait’s shoulder.

Basking in their shared warmth, both women remained fixed in place. Neither one wanted to leave each other’s embrace.

Eventually, however, Cait felt that she had to say something. As El held her tight, a small feeling of doubt continued to gnaw at Cait’s mind. “So, where…where do we go from here?” Cait asked apprehensively.

“What do you mean?” El replied, visibly confused by Cait’s questioning.

Cait shifted herself so that she was properly facing El. In response, El rolled onto her back so that Cait could rest comfortably on her chest. Running her fingers along the smooth skin of El’s breasts, Cait thought about how best to frame her doubts. “I’ve…I’ve given you everythin’ I have.”

“You have given me everything I could ask for.” El replied as she stroked the back of Cait’s shoulders.

Despite El’s affectionate words, Cait couldn’t accept that as a convincing response. “But, what about my contract?” she asked raising her head to show her concern.

El’s demeanour changed to one of mild frustration. She hated it when Cait brought up the subject of debts or her contract. “Forget your contract, Cait. You don’t work for me anymore, and you don’t owe me anything.”

“But…but… how am I supposed to pay you back for everythin’ you’ve done for me?” Cait continued to ask, her voice getting louder and more pained. El’s answers only deepened the doubt that Cait felt gnawing inside her.

Accepting that her answers were not satisfying Cait, El’s face became serious and she looked deep into her eyes. “Cait, listen to me, I don’t want you to pay me back. You have given me everything I could want. All I wanted was you, and you gave yourself to me; your body; your soul; your heart. Do you understand?”

Cait looked down and nodded, understanding El’s words. They weren’t exactly what Cait wanted to hear, but she could see the truth in them.

Noticing Cait’s unenthusiastic reaction, El decided that a different approach was required. El understood that unconditional love was a concept completely alien to Cait. If Cait was going to believe, El needed to find something that she would understand. “Think about it this way, Cait. I’ve also given you everything I have; my body; my soul; my heart; my love. That gives you considerable power over me as well. If anything, I’ve given you _my_ contract.” El said with a loving smile.

Cait thought deeply about El’s words, unfamiliar with what she was implying. El had given Cait her contract? Cait had never possessed power over someone before. But El was right, she _had_ given Cait her heart. The way that El had loved so deeply the night before was proof enough of that. And then there were all the other things El had done for her. Eventually, Cait raised her head and nodded, giving a shy but beaming smile.

El chuckled to herself and pulled Cait’s body up to kiss her. For the next several seconds, El and Cait lost themselves in their kiss. Their breath didn’t smell excellent, but neither woman cared. They just basked in the joy of their love.

Then suddenly, an odd feeling came over El and she pulled away. Visibly confused by the suddenness of El’s withdrawal, Cait frowned. “What’s wrong?” Cait asked, her face showing concern.

El looked away and exhaled deeply, herself confused by this feeling. “I…I’m not sure. My stomach just feels a bit…a bit…” El exhaled again as she failed to find the right words.

Propping herself up on her elbow, Cait noticed that El had gone very pale. “Are…are you okay?” she asked.

El placed her hand over her stomach and exhaled again. This time however, it was accompanied by a deep groan. “Yeah…yeah…I’m…I’m fine. I think I just…need…to…” Before she could finish her sentence, El quickly manoeuvred herself out of the bed and darted to the bathroom as fast as she could. Upon reaching the bathroom, El got to her knees and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

As she heard El cough and retch from the bathroom, Cait sat up in bed and pulled the sheets over her naked body. She was completely dumbfounded by what had just occurred. One minute, El was fine; the next, she was throwing up? Something didn’t make sense. _“What a way to spoil the moment.”_ Cait thought to herself. 

* * *

Cait was getting worried. For the past week, El had barely been able to keep anything down without needing to rush off to the toilet before promptly throwing up. Every time Cait brought it up, El was quick to wave it off. Yes, El was incredibly good at distracting her, but Cait continued to worry.

“Maybe you should see someone. All you’ve been doin’ is throwin’ up.” Cait said as she sat in bed, playing with the hem of her t-shirt. 

“I just took some Rad-X and Radaway, Cait.” El said as she slipped her pyjama vest on and turned to face the bed. “We do live in an irradiated wasteland after all. God you’re pretty.”

Despite blushing and pulling an adorably stupid face, Cait would not be flattered that easily. “Stop dodgin’ the point.” Cait said, crossing her arms.

Sensing Cait’s frustration, El sighed, “Look, it’s probably just a bug or something. I’ve had plenty of bugs before." El took a sip of water from a glass she had placed on her bedside table upon entering the room and then climbed into bed.

Once comfortable, El then leaned over and attempted to steal a kiss from Cait. Cait, however, was quick to reel away. “Eww, get away from me. I ain't kissin’ you, vomit breath.” Cait said, scrunching her face up in mock disgust.

Raising her eyebrows, El’s mouth dropped, completely aghast by Cait’s scolding rejection. “Well, aren’t you a stuck-up bitch?” El said sarcastically.

Riding the ego train her words gave her, Cait gave a smug smile. “I get it from you.”

Completely taken aback by Cait’s arrogance, El scoffed audibly. “Well then, as you have been so rude, I’m going to bed. Good night.” El said as she turned off her light and turned onto her side, facing away from Cait.

El had barely closed her eyes before she felt Cait snuggle up behind her and pepper kisses along the back of her shoulders. Immediately understanding Cait’s intentions, El rolled her eyes and exhaled sharply, “Rude girls don’t get cuddles.” El said commandingly.

“Please….” Cait replied peppering more kisses on El’s back and trying desperately to sound innocent.

Eventually, huffing in defeat, El rolled onto her back. “Fine. Come on then.” She said as she extended her arm to Cait.

Immediately snuggling into El’s embrace, Cait rested her head on El’s chest and hummed contently. El’s curvaceous body was so lovely to cuddle up to at night. El’s declaration about Cait having her contract had also given Cait real confidence about the influence she held over El.

Gently stroking Cait’s back, El kissed the top of Cait’s head. “You’re incorrigible sometimes, you know.” El chuckled.

“What’s that mean?” Cait asked, slightly conscious of how El knew many more words than she did.

“It means you can be a real pain in the arse sometimes.” El said, holding Cait tight and bringing her close.

Cait could not help but blush and she laughed. El was absolutely right. “I love you.” Cait said as she wrapped her arm around El’s waist.

“I love you too.” El smiled as she stroked Cait’s soft, freshly brushed hair. Adjusting herself slightly, El then tapped Cait’s shoulder, bringing her attention back to reality. “Now get some sleep. I’m knackered.” El said, immediately closing her eyes and settling down.

As silence fell over their bedroom, Cait’s eyelids began to grow heavy. With the soft hum of El’s light snoring reverberating in her ears, Cait soon drifted into a pleasant sleep.

* * *

El awoke the next morning and almost couldn’t contain her laughter. Sleeping soundly on top of her was Cait, lightly snoring, with a droplet of saliva slowly drooling out of her wide-open mouth. Sexiness was clearly Cait’s first priority when sleeping.

Running her hand up Cait’s back, El began to gently stroke Cait’s unruly hair. During the night, strands of Cait’s hair had started sticking outwards, adding to her unkept sleepy look. Flattening some of the strands down, El then used a piece of bedsheet to wipe the saliva from Cait’s lips. Despite her mouth remaining unflatteringly wide open, Cait looked a little bit more presentable.

Before long, Cait snorted and shifted her position slightly. Wiping the sleep away, Cait slowly opened her eyes and looked up blearily at El. Immediately, upon seeing her, Cait pulled an adorably stupid gurn that squinted her eyes and puffed out her cheeks. “Mornin’” she croaked.

Observing her lover’s morning look, El raised her eyebrows and pulled a playfully inquisitive face. “Good morning. Do you get that look naturally?” El asked sarcastically.

Narrowing her eyes in a feeble attempt at a glare, Cait tried to look insulted. “Fuck you. You wish you could look as good as me in the mornin’.” she said ironically.

El could not help but laugh. More often than not, Cait was groggy in the morning, but it was always nice to play games with her. Ever since confessing to each other, Cait had really let El see her playful side. Whilst she maintained her fighting façade when around other people, when with El, Cait gave off a teasing persona that was, sometimes, almost childlike. As the only person in the Commonwealth who knew her story, El understood why Cait acted that way. Cait only felt safe around El, so El was the only person allowed to see her for what she was underneath the armour.

Suddenly, however, a low rumble from El’s stomach put an end to the laughter and El groaned uncomfortably. Hearing the rumble too, Cait raised her head and looked up at El, her smile dropping in concern. “You…you okay, El?” Cait asked.

“I don’t know...” El said through a long sigh. “I…think…I- Oh god, sorry-.” El could not finish as she placed a hand over her mouth. Before Cait could react, she was almost thrown off the bed as El quickly rolled out and darted to the bathroom.

* * *

El barely made it to the bathroom before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. For the next several minutes, El knelt forward, violently retching as she expelled the grisly mix of material from her stomach. Once the vomiting had stopped, and she had finished retching, El stayed staring inside the toilet bowl, trying to catch her breath. _“That was rough.”_ El thought to herself.

Getting back to her feet, El pressed the flusher button and the toilet bowl emptied. As she watched the bowl empty and refill, El wondered why all of this was happening to her. Why had she been throwing up all week? Was it some kind of food poisoning? The effects of radiation? A sickness? El had no idea.

Once the toilet had refilled, El turned away and leant her hands against the sink. If she was going understand what was wrong, El needed to think this through and use some of her lawyer skills. Closing her eyes, El thought about her symptoms; she had been vomiting; her stomach had been feeling off, she couldn’t keep food down, and…and her breasts had been expressing milk. El had not felt like that since-.

Opening her eyes again, a horrifying thought suddenly crossed El’s mind and she looked up into the mirror. El was shocked to see that she was deathly pale. _“……No…...Please no….”_ El whispered, terror creeping across her face.

It couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t. El had been frozen for over two-hundred years, and had only thawed out around three months ago. That just didn’t make sense. And, barring Cait, El had not been with anyone since entering the wasteland.

Unless, a distant memory from El’s pre-war life entered her mind and her heart stopped. It was the day when she and Nate had taken Shaun to the park for the day. El remembered how, that evening, after Shaun was asleep, Nate had cooked her a romantic meal before cuddling up in front of a movie. El bit her lip as she then remembered how the evening ended; with Nate carrying her back to the bedroom for a passionate night alone together.

As the pieces of the puzzle fitted into place, a terrifying realisation dawned on El. Looking into the mirror again, El found that all the blood had gone from her face. it was in that moment that the penny dropped with a horrifying clang; El was… _pregnant_.

Tears immediately welled up in El’s eyes and her breathing quickened as panic set in. Gripping the edges of the sink as tightly as she could, El tried to contemplate what this meant. What was El going to do? She was meant to be looking for Shaun; how could she bring another child into this world? How could she raise two children here? What was she going to tell Cait?

 _“El?”_ a voice called from the doorway. Nearly jumping out of her skin, El turned to find Cait standing in the bathroom doorway, her face paralysed with worry.

Upon seeing El, Cait’s eyes widened and she took a step back, visibly surprised by El’s appearance. El looked like ghost. “Are…are you okay, El? You look like a ghost.” Cait asked after entering the bathroom.

Still trying to process the tsunami of thoughts going through her mind, El tried to find a way of explaining herself to Cait. El had no idea how Cait would take the news. “Cait, I…I…think I know why I’ve been vomiting all this time. I…I…” El said through shaky breaths, “I think I might be p-p-pregnant.”

Cait took a step back from El and stared at her in stunned silence. Her face was almost a mirror image of El’s as they both stood there, silently staring at each other.

Suddenly, however, Cait’s stunned face hardened and her eyes flashed a poisonous feeling of anger and betrayal. Clenching her fists, anger burned in Cait’s face. “You been fuckin’ cheatin’ on me?” Cait spat accusingly.

 _“Oh god!”_ El thought to herself, _“I need to keep this situation from spiralling.”_ Taking a step towards Cait, El attempted to speak, “No, Cait, please listen to me. It’s not what you think. I-.”

“You been fuckin’ around behind my back!?” Cait interrupted venomously, her face seething with betrayal.

El’s eyes widened in shock at Cait’s reaction. “N-N-N-No, I haven’t, Cait. Please, just let me explain. It’s not like that-.” Faced with Cait’s spiteful accusations, El was beginning to stutter.

“Who is it!?” Cait shouted, interrupting El again. “Is it one of those Minutemen outside? Is it that fuckin’ Preston guy in the Castle? Is that hack Piper some kind of fuckin' mutant who knocked you up? Hell, is it that fuckin’ synth detective? Who is it!?” Cait was herself becoming more and more frantic.

“I-I-It’s n-none of them. Cait, please, can we just talk about this?” Attempting to retrieve the situation, El took a step forwards and tried to take Cait’s hand.

El nearly jumped as Cait quickly slapped El’s hand away from her. “Get the fuck away from me!” Cait said recoiling away from El.

Still attempting to calm Cait down, El stepped forward again. “Please, Cait. Just let me explain.” El begged as she tried to put her hands on Cait’s shoulders.

“I SAID GET OFF ME, YOU FUCKIN' SLUT!” Cait screamed as she forcibly wrestled El off her.

Uncontrollable pain suddenly erupted around El’s left eye as Cait landed a powerful punch across El’s face. Looking back at Cait, El was too shocked to even react to the pain as she nursed her injured face with her hand.

As they both stood in silence, Cait was visibly stunned by her actions. Looking down at her shaking fist, Cait’s seething demeanour softened slightly. Her face, however, quickly hardened again and she looked back at El, the same venom in her eyes. “Now I know why you were bein’ so nice to me all this time. All you wanted to do was fuck me! You found a hot little piece who could carry your shit and soak up the bullets.” Cait was struggling to hold it together as she railed at El. “Then when her guard was down, you thought you could just fuck and then dump her!”

Normally, El would have stood firm and fought her corner against such accusations. However, her own shock, and Cait’s violence towards her, left El speechless. As Cait railed at her, El lowered her aching head and hunched her shoulders forward in passive submission.

“Well, I’m done! I’m leavin’ and I never wanna see you ever again!” Cait continued, her eyes welling up with tears as she spoke. “And don’t even think about followin’ me. If I ever see you again, I’ll fuckin’ kill you!” Cait shouted as she jabbed a finger at El. Dropping her hand, Cait turned to leave the bathroom.

Sensing this as her last chance to stop Cait from leaving, El made one last attempt to grab her. “No! Cait! Please don’t go!” El shouted as she lunged at Cait, trying to grab her arm.

But Cait was too fast and quickly dodged, sending El tumbling to the floor. El groaned and winced as she hit the floor; the left side of her face still humming from Cait’s punch. As El tried to prop herself up on her hands, she could hear fumbling coming from her bedroom. What was Cait doing?

El had just managed to raise her head when she saw Cait appear at the bathroom doorway, her bag slung over her shoulder and her boots clutched in her hands. Upon looking back at El, Cait let out a pained sob and her face softened. El could see the pain in Cait’s eyes as she stared down at her.

But Cait could not show any weakness now. Taking a deep breath, Cait closed her eyes and walked away down the corridor.

“No! Cait! Please! Come back!” El screamed as she lay spread out on the floor, hoping beyond hope that Cait would turn around.

As El heard the front door open and slam, the damn inside her broke and tears streamed down El’s injured face. Rolling onto her side, El wailed hysterically on the cold hard bathroom floor. Cait, the woman she loved, was gone, gone forever. Now here El was, lying on the bathroom floor, barefoot, pregnant, and completely alone.

Whether it was because of her emotional distress, or ingrained motherly instinct, El rested a hand over her stomach, her mind already conscious of the new life living inside her. As she continued to wail on the bathroom floor, El did not care if anyone heard her.

* * *

"Mum, I must insist that you leave this room and have something to eat. You have not moved all day.” Codsworth said as he floated through El bedroom. “And I must also insist that you put some ice on that bruise.”

El did not react as she lay curled up on her bed. Since finally climbing up from the bathroom floor, El had retired to her bed and had not moved since. “Just go away, Codsworth.” El said unemotionally.

“Well, I never, I-I-.” Cosdworth scoffed audibly as he swivelled and moved towards the room’s exit. Despite his displeasure at El’s rudeness, he did kindly close the door behind him.

Now that she was alone once again, El grabbed Cait’s pillow and hugged it tightly to her chest. Inhaling deeply, El could still smell a mild scent of Cait emanating from the material. El hummed at the scent of her former lover and her eyelids began to grow heavy. Pretty soon, through a mixture of Cait’s scent, and the sheer exhaustion of crying so much, El fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

El had no idea how long she had been asleep, but she was eventually awoken by a familiar whimpering and scratching coming from her bedroom door. Begrudgingly, El manoeuvred herself off the bed and walked over to open the door, letting Dogmeat walk through into the bedroom.

Sighing deeply as she sat back down on the bed, El ruffled Dogmeat’s fur as he rested his head on her knee. Dogmeat could clearly sense El’s distress and he looked into El’s eyes, whimpering slightly. “Well, at least I still have you, boy.” El said scratching Dogmeat’s ears. “What am I going to do?”

Despite his whimpering, Dogmeat just stared up at El, completely oblivious to why she was distressed.

Accepting that she wouldn’t get much in the way of advice from a dog, El sighed. “Come on, boy. Let’s go and get you something to eat.” she said, smiling down at Dogmeat.

El stood up and looked out of the window, curious at how much time had passed since she fell asleep. The sun was hanging low in the sky, signalling that it was getting late. Turning away from the window, El then lead Dogmeat to the kitchen and set about filling his bowl with some dogfood.

After placing the full bowl in front of Dogmeat, El perched herself on one of the counter barstools and rested her head in her palm.

“Mum, may I speak my mind?” Codsworth asked as he floated through from the living area.

Already suspicious at where this was going, El closed her eyes and shifted her position slightly. “Yes, what is it, Codsworth?” she asked unenthusiastically.

“I can’t help but assume that some kind of altercation has occurred between you and Miss Cait.” Codsworth enquired.

“I suppose you could say that.” El said glumly, vividly remembering the venom in Cait’s eyes.

Codsworth floated next to El for a few seconds, thinking through what he would say next. “I understand that Miss Cait can be quite, shall we say, volatile at times. But I do not believe that she is beyond the cause of reason.”

El frowned slightly, intrigued at what Codsworth was talking about. “What exactly are you saying?”

“Mum, before the bombs, I never saw you defeated by a court case. Even when a case seemed forlorn, you would not give up. I believe that, if you genuinely try and talk to Miss Cait, she will listen.” Codsworth said, sounding incredibly human for a robot.

El could have laughed at Codsworth’s newfound wisdom, but, instead, she cocked her head in increased interest. “Since when did you become such an expert on sage advice?” El asked sarcastically.

"It is part of my programming to ensure that all residents of this house are happy. I believe that talking to Miss Cait will make you happy.” Codsworth said before floating away towards the kitchen area.

El sat on the barstool and let Codsworth’s words sink in. She couldn’t believe it; she was taking advice from her robot butler; and the advice was right. If El didn’t force the issue, then Cait wouldn’t listen. She needed to find Cait, fast, and before it got dark.

Hopping off the barstool, El strode towards her bedroom and quickly slipped on her vault suit. As she pulled the zip up, El was immediately aware of how tight it had become. How long had she ignored the changes in her body that she had experienced over the past weeks and months? Returning to the matter at hand, El was conscious to leave just enough of her deep cleavage exposed. She then pushed her breasts up to extentuate her bust as much as possible. One thing El was good at was getting Cait’s attention.

When she re-entered the living area, El swiped her boots from beside the front door and quickly laced them up. With her laces tied, and herself suitably attired, El walked through the front door and out into Sanctuary. Even if it was the last thing she did, El was going to win Cait back.

* * *

Cait could not stop crying as she repeatedly punched the wall in front of her. With every punch, Cait sobbed uncontrollably and tears streamed down her face. Pretty soon, the wall was peppered with small red dots as Cait’s knuckles oozed droplets of blood. Cait surmised that, if she punched the wall enough times, the feelings inside her head would go away.

The emotions, however, would not leave and Cait soon began to tire. As Cait became more exhausted, her punches became softer and more laboured. With one last laboured punch, Cait’s tired legs buckled and she slid down until she was sitting with her back against the bloodied wall.

Curling up and hugging her knees to her chest, Cait attempted to think through what had happened earlier that day. Everything that Cait had taught herself to believe had been proved right. Yet again, someone whom Cait had trusted and opened up to had betrayed her. Cait just couldn’t believe that, even El, the woman she loved so dearly, would deceive her like that.

El had found Cait and had tricked her by feeding and clothing her. Saving Cait’s life in the Castle also helped El in her trickery. Then, when Cait lowered her guard, El threw Cait’s clothes off and had her wicked way with her. All at the same time, El had been secretly fucking around behind Cait’s back; so much so that El had gotten herself knocked up like the slut she was.

So, here Cait was, sitting in an abandoned _Red Rocket_ gas station, homeless, weaponless, and completely alone. In her haste to get away, Cait had not been able to collect all her things; only managing to take the things that she could easily swipe from her bedside table. What Cait had wasn’t going to be enough to survive in the Commonwealth for long. Cait did not care though. The Commonwealth would not miss her.

However, as she sat alone on the floor, Cait could not help but feel guilty about leaving. Whilst it must have all been a trick, El had done so much for her since their first meeting. Even Cait could not fully believe that El would fuck around behind her back. Ever since they met, El and Cait had been nighen inseparable.

And then there was the way that El had loved Cait so affectionately. After curing her addiction, El had nursed Cait back to health and then gave her body and heart to her. Cait shivered slightly as she remembered the feelings that El had ignited inside her body. And, through it all, El had done all that without asking for anything in return.

A paralysing dilemma suddenly erupted in Cait’s mind; maybe she should have stayed and listened to El. El had looked so shocked and scared when Cait railed at her that morning. She looked as if what she was trying to say was the truth. Cait could not easily believe that El would lie to her. Maybe if…if El _was_ pregnant, there must be something more behind it.

Cait shook her head violently, attempting to force the thoughts out of her mind. Cait needed to believe her instincts; El had betrayed her, so she could go fuck herself. Reaching into her barely filled bag, Cait pulled out one thing that she had been able to retrieve, a bottle of whiskey. During Cait’s week of angst about her feelings for El, Cait had steadily worked her way through the bottle. Now, there was roughly a quarter of the liquid left.

Unscrewing the cap, Cait took a long swig and exhaled deeply, sniffling slightly as her tears began to stop. After taking another long swig, Cait looked down and noticed something on the floor. Picking the object up, Cait immediately interpreted it as a photograph. It must have stuck itself to the bottle when Cait packed her bag. Turning the photograph, the right side up, Cait’s breath hitched as she befell a picture of El and her together.

In the picture, El and Cait were both sat on the couch at El’s home in Sanctuary. They were both in their pyjamas and Cait was sitting, cuddled up, on El’s lap, resting her head comfortably on El’s chest. As if like a perfectly fitting puzzle, El's head was resting on top of Cait’s and her right arm was wrapped lovingly around her waist, holding Cait close. Cait, however, could not take her eyes away from the loving smiles both her and El had on their faces. They both booked _so_ happy.

Cait remembered when El had taken the picture. After an evening shower, dinner, and a movie, El and Cait had ended up making out on the couch. Following an intense make-out session, Cait had cuddled up on El’s lap and El had snapped her camera, saving the moment forever. The next day, between bouts of vomiting, El had presented a developed copy of the photograph to Cait.

Letting out a pained sob, Cait’s eyes began darting between the photo in her left hand and the bottle in her right. Paralysed with indecision, Cait scrunched her face up in anger and she violently threw the bottle across the room, yelling loudly as she did so. As the bottle smashed against the opposite wall, Cait hugged the photograph to her chest and closed her eyes, allowing fresh tears to fall down her face.

Cait loved El so much, and now she was gone forever. Finally accepting that life was now completely pointless, Cait rested her head against the wall and wished for the unceremonious death that she deserved.

 _“CAIT!”_ a voice called out in the distance.

Immediately, Cait’s eyes flashed open and she listened for the voice again. It seemed to be calling her name.

 _“CAIT!”_ the voice called again, this time sounding closer than before.

Listening intently, Cait instantly recognised the voice as El and she scrambled on the floor. If El was coming this way, then Cait did not wish to be seen. Eventually, Cait curled herself up behind the counter and hoped that El would not see her.

Soon, Cait heard footsteps outside the building. _“Cait?”_ El’s voice called, quieter this time as El stepped inside the building.

Instinctively, Cait held her breath as she saw El’s legs pass her as she looked to investigate the gas station’s back office. Cait could see immediately that El was wearing her signature vault suit. Cait could only wonder if El had done that on purpose. El always knew how much that suit drove Cait crazy.

With El’s back turned, Cait sensed this as her only chance to escape before El left the back room. As quietly as she could, Cait scrambled to her feet and made for the doorway. However, Cait was immediately betrayed as the sound of broken glass reverberated throughout the building. Cait winced in abject defeat as she remembered the pieces of broken bottle on the floor. 

Hearing the sound, El frantically exited the back room and saw Cait attempting to flee. It was then that they both stared at each other. Whilst Cait tried to look away, she couldn’t take her eyes off the vault suit wrapped tightly around El’s curvaceous body. The vault suit’s zip was also partially undone which exposed just enough of El’s cleavage to get Cait’s attention. El must have also pushed up her boobs so the soft milky flesh was nearly spilling over the top of the material. Cait knew immediately that El had done that on purpose.

What drew most of Cait’s attention, however, was the large purple bruise surrounding El’s left eye. Cait could not look at it without feeling tremendous guilt at what she had done in her fit of anger. Cait had lived a life of abuse; now she inflicted that abuse of her lover. Maybe Cait _was_ her parent’s daughter after all.

An immense feeling of relief suddenly washed over El as she saw Cait standing in front of her. Smiling happily, El took a step forward. “Cait! Oh, thank god. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I’m so glad you’re here.” El said, approaching Cait.

Cait, however, stood back and averted her eyes from El. “Get away from me.” Cait said with a pained look on her face. “I…I don’t wanna see you anymore. Just…just leave me alone."

The happiness El felt at seeing Cait again instantly dropped and she knew that she would need to get serious. “Cait, please. Just let me explain.” El begged.

Not wishing to hear El’s begging, Cait jabbed an accusing finger at El. “No! I’m done listenin’ to you! I don’t wanna know how many sluts and scumbags you fucked before me!” Cait spat venomously.

It took all of El’s strength not to break down in tears. “Please, Cait. There’s been no one else, believe me. There’s only been you.” El said frantically, as she clutched her hands together and took another step forward.

But Cait would not listen and she began to turn away from El. “Look, just fuck off, alright!” Cait shouted painfully.

Sensing this as her last chance to save Cait, El had no option but to shout. “Cait! Just listen to me! It’s my husband’s child!” El yelled, her voice fracturing slightly.

Cait stopped in her tracks and remained stock still. Behind her eyes, El could see the anger and pain inside Cait change to a look of guilt and embarrassment. “Why…why should I believe you?” Cait eventually asked.

“Because it’s the truth, Cait.” El pleaded. “Please believe me”

Cait remained absolutely still, her hands clutched to her chest. Cait wanted so much to believe El, but she just couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

Eventually, realising that Cait would not be so easily convinced, El sighed and bowed her head. “I did the math, Cait. I think I’m about fourteen weeks along. I only thawed out three months ago.” El looked back up at Cait and continued. “It’s all made sense to me now, the vomiting, my stomach has been feeling off recently, my clothes have been feeling tight, and my…my breasts have been expressing milk.”

Cait immediately glanced down at El’s delectable breasts, her mind unable to think about anything else but El’s already large breasts filled with milk.

“At first, I thought it was because of Shaun that these changes were happening.” El continued, “But, now, thinking about it, I’ve changed my perspective. I was so traumatized after thawing out, I didn't stop and think about what was going on with my body."

Everything that El said only confused Cait. Cait believed that El was both lying and telling the truth at the same time. With all the conflict inside her head, Cait did not know what to do.

Sensing Cait’s inner turmoil, El tentatively took a step forward. Seeing El walking towards her, Cait instinctively tensed up and she took a shaky breath. “D-d-don’t.” Cait whimpered, stuttering as she spoke. She, however, did not back away from El.

Apprehensively, El took another step towards Cait, her hands open in front of her. El’s face was emotionless as she approached.

“S-s-stop. D-don’t.” Cait stuttered again, shaking her head, her lips quivering as she resisted the urge to cry.

Before long, through slow, calculating steps, El found herself standing directly in front of Cait. As El stood before her, Cait looked straight ahead, unintentionally at El’s cleavage, and trembled violently.

Taking a chance, El gently, but firmly, reached up and took Cait’s wrists and began prizing them away from her chest. Cait whimpered as she tried to resist El’s movements, but it was in vain. Within a few seconds, El had brought Cait’s arms down to her side. At the same time, tears were welling up in Cait’s eyes and she wondered how long she had before the damn broke.

Against all Cait’s trembling resistance, El then wrapped her arms around Cait’s shoulders and pulled into a tight hug. Initially, Cait squirmed and feebly tried to push El away. However, Cait was unable to fight her emotions and she soon hugged El for dear life. As soon as she relaxed, tears streamed down Cait’s face and she wailed despondently into E’s chest.

As Cait cried uncontrollably into her chest, El gently stroked Cait’s soft red hair to calm and sooth her. “Sssh, sssh. It’s alright, Cait. It’s alright.” El whispered in to Cait’s ear.

Eventually, Cait had cried most of her energy away and she began to relax. Loosening her grip slightly, but not releasing her embrace, El looked down at Cait and rested her head on top of hers. “I’m sorry, Cait. I’m so, so sorry. I…I never planned for any of this.” El stuttered as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Still sniffling, Cait raised her head and looked deep into El’s eyes; they had that hazel glint that she loved so much. “W-what do we d-do now?’ Cait asked apprehensively as small sobs escaped her lips.

El looked away and thought about Cait’s question. “I…I…I don’t know. For the first time in two-hundred years, I don’t have a plan. How…how are you supposed to have a baby in this wasteland? How am I supposed to find Shaun whilst pregnant? How-?” El stopped herself from speaking more as she felt her mind begin to spiral.

Composing herself, however, El looked back at Cait and held her tight. “But, whatever happens, I need you with me, Cait. I can’t survive without you. Please…please come home.” El begged as she stroked Cait’s soft wavy hair.

Feeling the soothing warmth from El’s body on hers, Cait knew that _she_ could not survive in the Commonwealth without El. Gripping onto her lover for dear life, Cait closed her eyes and nodded.

Almost immediately, the damn behind El’s eyes broke and tears of joy streamed down El’s face. “Thank you, Cait. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” El smiled as she frantically peppered small affectionate kisses all over Cait’s face.

Steadying El’s body, Cait then leaned up and planted a deep, passionate kiss on El’s lips. Both women hummed contentedly as they lost each other in their kiss. The feel of their lips was completely intoxicating.

Eventually, El pulled away and her face became serious again. “Listen to me, Cait.” El said commandingly as she moved her arm to stroke Cait’s cheek. “Once I get some proper answers, we can sort this out, alright. I promise you that.”

Seeing the truth in El’s glinting hazel eyes, Cait leant up again and placed a small accepting kiss on El’s cheek. Returning to her original height, Cait then gave El a shy but deeply loving smile.

Almost completely overwhelmed with emotion that she had not lost Cait, El lovingly smiled back and rested her head on Cait’s again.

They both stayed standing the for several minutes but, eventually, Cait’s smile slowly dropped into a look of guilt and embarrassment. “I’m…I’m sorry I punched you in the face.” Cait said ashamedly as she looked at the bruise surrounding El’s left eye.

El could not help but laugh at Cait’s apology and she returned to gently stroking Cait’s cheek. “It’s alright, Cait.” El said, planting a kiss on Cait’s forehead. “Just a lovers quarrel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed that chapter. I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since the beginning as it is, really, the lynchpin of the entire story. 
> 
> So, yes, El was pregnant the whole time. Where will El and Cait's relationship go from here?
> 
> I got the idea from a line of dialogue in the prologue of the game. When the Sole Survivor and Nate are in Shaun's room, Nate makes a quip about going to the park. The Sole Survivor replies with a sarcastic remark about getting pregnant again. My thought was, well, what if? 
> 
> So, based on that setup, a developed the story's backdrop around that. I think that, if you play be game in a certain way, and take a few artistic licenses, it's perfectly possible that the Sole Survivor could be pregnant and have no idea; whilst trying to find Shaun, Romancing Cait, and being an absolute badass. 
> 
> I should also note that, this is has been teased since the beginning. Throughout the previous chapters, I have left little clues which have all culminated towards this. Well done if you spotted these clues, and extra kudos if you already sussed the reveal out. 
> 
> Once again, Please leave kudos and a comment. I love to hear you thoughts about the story and characters. 
> 
> I would also like to thank you all for your support in this story. In the past week, this story passed the 1000 hits marker. This is something I never imagined, so thank you so much. You're wonderful. 
> 
> I should also point out that I have, unfortunately, reached the end of my chapters with written plans. I have, however, sat down and have put together a comprehensive list of all the chapters to come. All I need to do now is write them and then transform them into readable prose. As a result, future chapters will probably come more bi-weekly, rather than weekly. I hope you understand. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all stay safe, see you all on the next chapter, and thank you for all your support.


	11. New Realities: Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait struggle to come to terms with the new addition to their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I hope you are all keeping safe. 
> 
> First of all, I would like to apologise for how long it has taken to get this chapter out. There are several reasons for this. First, my life has been a little hectic recently, and it has been difficult to find any time to write. Also, now that I am planning and writing chapters at the same time, it does take a lot of time and energy. 
> 
> Secondly, The Last of Us: Part II came out recently and that, quite rightly in my opinion, took up a lot of my time. When I was playing the game, however, I found quite a few similarities between Cait and Ellie. I've seen a lot of Cait's personality in Ellie as I've been slowly playing through the story. It actually gave me a lot of confidence in how I've portrayed Cait so far.
> 
> Thirdly, and quite frankly, I needed a little break from writing. Whilst I do like it when new chapters go out, and seeing your reactions to them, it does take a lot of time and energy. Writers block is a powerful force and should never be underestimated. Having a break also allowed me to start reading the Witcher series, which I have been meaning to read for a while now. 
> 
> So, if I should say anything, it's thank you. Thank you for sticking with this story. Your support is what keeps this story going. 
> 
> Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. Please enjoy this latest chapter. 
> 
> *WARNING*: This chapter contains a section which some may find distressing. If you don't want to read that section, skip the bit that is all in italics.

El and Cait sat at the dining table, both eating their breakfast in complete silence. A couple of days had passed since Cait had returned home after running away. However, the many unanswered questions surrounding both women’s future relationship had brought an uneasy atmosphere over El and Cait.

Taking a bite of her Salisbury Steak, El glanced up at her lover. Across the table from her, Cait emotionlessly ate her breakfast. Her eyes were locked firmly on her plate and she sat slumped forward in her chair. She was wearing the dark green pin-striped shirt that she had found in Vault 95 and the jeans that El had bought her in Diamond City. El always liked Cait in that shirt. Not only did Cait look adorably beautiful in dark green, but Cait had worn that shirt the night they had confessed to each other. As a result, that shirt always held a special place in El’s heart.

After a few seconds, Cait glanced up and noticed that El was staring at her. “El, you need somethin’?” she asked, her voice both inquisitive and ever so slightly concerned.

Shocked back to reality by Cait’s question, El had to quickly think of a response. “Oh, urrr, n-nothing. Just that…you…you look…really nice today. I…I always loved that shirt.” El stuttered, giving a friendly smile.

Slightly taken aback by El’s compliment, Cait looked down at her shirt and gave a shy toothless smile, blushing as she did so. Cait was used to El making compliments about her appearance. It helped build the confidence that Cait visibly lacked. However, with everything that had happened in the last few days, Cait struggled to accept El’s praises. Cait loved El more than anything in the world, but El’s news had implanted new doubts in Cait’s mind that no number of compliments could dislodge. Ever since confessing to El, Cait had always seen herself as the centre of El’s attention. Whilst El’s quest to find Shaun lingered in the background, Cait always secretly considered him far away from them and unable to take El away from her. El’s news had thrown that entire scenario into doubt and left Cait terrified of what El would do about their relationship. Would El abandon her? Cait knew these thoughts were selfish, and El would be upset if she ever found out, but Cait could not think of anything else.

Eventually, El finished her meal and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Placing her napkin down, El looked up at Cait. “You ready to go?” she asked, trying to replicate the friendly smile she had given Cait earlier.

Fidgeting with her hands under the table, Cait nodded. “Yeah, I’m packed. Just need a minute to get it from the room.” Cait said as she stood up and shuffled off down the corridor to their bedroom.

With Cait gone, El sat back in her chair and sighed forlornly. Ever since coming home, Cait had not been the same. Whilst she was cordial most of the time, the adorably playful persona that Cait only displayed around El was now back behind emotional walls. Most days, Cait barely spoke to El for any length of time. Cait had also forgone any cuddles and embraces that El offered. Despite still sharing a bed every night, Cait slept facing away from El, with her limbs tightly curled up.

El was, understandably, deeply upset by Cait’s behaviour. At this critical stage of uncertainty in her life, El needed Cait’s love more than ever. El was convinced that Cait still loved her. The very fact that Cait had come home was proof enough of that. However, El also understood that Cait was stubborn and very easily hurt. As far as Cait was concerned, El had betrayed her trust and she would have to work hard to earn it back.

Placing a hand on her stomach, El squeezed her eyes shut and tried desperately not to cry. El was not sure whether she was upset because of Cait, or her hormones playing up. Whatever it was, El hated it. As she sat, a solitary tear escaped her eye and slid down her face. El just wanted Cait back.

El quickly wiped the tear away from her face when she heard footsteps approaching. Standing up, El found Cait with her jacket on and her bag slung over her shoulders. Clutched in her arms was also the armour that El had bought her.

Chuckling slightly, El reached out and gently took the armour off Cait’s hands. “Don’t worry, Cait. We won’t need this today.” El said as she placed the armour pieces on the table.

Walking around Cait, El collected her coat from beside the front door and slipped it on. She then similarly collected her rucksack and slung it over her shoulders. Once suitably attired, El looked back at Cait. “You ready to go?” El asked, gesturing to the door.

Retrieving her shotgun from against the wall, Cait nodded and walked towards the door. As Cait passed, El quickly grabbed her hand and held it close. “It will be alright, Cait. I promise. Just let me get some answers and we can discuss what to do.” El did her best to sound sincere and loving, but serious at the same time.

Cait glanced up at El, acknowledging her promise, and gave another nod before opening the door and stepping out into Sanctuary.

Understanding that she was unlikely to get any other kind of response from Cait, El sighed glumly and walked through the front door. Joining Cait in the middle of the road, El adjusted her rucksack slightly and cleared her throat. “Come on then. Let’s go.” El said as resolutely as she could.

In a painful silence, El and Cait exited Sanctuary and began their journey southward.

* * *

Entering Diamond City, El took a deep swig of her canteen and wiped thick beads of sweat from her brow. The weather on their journey had been especially hot and both El and Cait were happy to get under some kind of shade. Stepping off the causeway and into the city, El and Cait walked slowly towards the market.

 _“Blue!”_ El and Cait’s attention was suddenly drawn to the sight of Piper waving and striding confidently towards them.

“H-Hey Piper.” El said, still somewhat surprised as Piper wrapped her in a tight friendly hug.

Pulling away, Piper turned her head to Cait and smiled. “Good to see you too, Cait. You’re looking well.” As she was still somewhat unfamiliar with Cait, Piper cautiously did not hug her. Whilst she seemed nice, Piper felt she should get to know Cait more before trying anything else.

Cait lifted the corners of her mouth in acknowledgement but did not speak. She was happier that Piper did not attempt to hug her as well. Whilst Piper was El’s friend, she was not Cait’s, at least not yet.

Turning her head back to El, Piper returned to her chirpy persona. “So, where you been, you big lug? How’s the Commonwealth been treating you? What did you do to your face?” Piper asked, frowning at the bruise around El’s eye. 

Still taken aback by Piper’s characteristic friendliness so soon after arriving, El attempted to answer. “Well, an awful lot if I’m honest, Piper. It’s a bit of a long story though. And I got this during a pretty tough firefight.” She lied, attempting a smile.

Hearing the prospect of a long story, Piper’s face lit up. “Well, why don't you both come in and take a load off. You must be exhausted. I want to hear everything.” She said enthusiastically.

El stood uneasily and bit her lip as she processed Piper’s invitation. “Urrm, well…that sounds great, Piper. But, there’s…kinda something we need to do here.” El said, glancing across to Cait.

Completely understanding her insensitivity, Piper’s smile dropped. “Oh, right. Of course. Sorry, I’m intruding.”

“No, not in the slightest.” El replied, retrieving the situation. “Maybe we could come by later?”

“Yeah, sure.” Piper said, giving a friendly smile. “Just knock when you’re ready. And good luck with whatever you’re doing.”

“Thanks Piper. I’ll see you a bit later.” El said as she gestured herself and Cait towards the market.

“Sure thing.” Piper said with a nod.

Walking into the Diamond City market, El and Cait immediately banked right and entered Doctor Sun’s _Mega Surgery Center_. Upon seeing them, Doctor Sun turned away from his chemistry station and greeted them. “Good afternoon. How can I treat you today? Wounds? Radiation?”

“Hi Doctor” El greeted back. “None of those today. I’m not sure whether you have the right equipment, but I need an ultrasound scan. I’m…I’m pretty sure that I’m pregnant.”

Doctor Sun thought for a few seconds and then nodded. “Just to be sure, can you tell me any symptoms you might have, and how far along you think you are.”

El’s cheeks went slightly red as she listed off her symptoms. “Well, I’ve been vomiting, my stomach has been feeling off the past few days, and my…my breasts have been expressing milk. If my math is right, I think I’m about fourteen weeks along. I...I also haven't really been able to keep track of my cycle.”

Doctor Sun nodded again. “Alright. I can give you the scan. But the machine is downstairs and, as this is a specialised piece of equipment, I’ll also need a premium. Fifty caps will suffice.”

“Fine.” El replied, willing to pay any price for answers. El then carefully counted out fifty caps and slipped them into her coat pocket. “After the scan.” El said commandingly.

“Very well then.” Doctor Sun said. “Follow me.”

* * *

The setting was not what El would have liked; but here she was, lying on a lightly sanitised hospital bed, just under street level. The two-hundred year old ultrasound machine also did not fill El with much confidence as Doctor Sun started it up.

El was lying with the top half of her vault suit down and the bottom half of her vest folded up just under her breasts. Next to her, Cait stood silently, her face both curious and terrified.

“Alright. Let’s see what we’ve got.” Doctor Sun said as he placed the ultrasound device on El’s stomach. El shivered as the cold device ran over her skin and she watched intently as the machine’s screen flickered into life.

After several seconds, Doctor Sun noticed something on the screen and held the device in place. “And, there it is. It looks like your math is pretty much spot on, give or take a week.”

El’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the flickering screen. In the middle of the monitor, a little life sat peacefully inside her. As she watched the foetus inside her lightly bop up and down, El could not contain her happiness. El could never have imagined anything like this since thawing out. After Nate’s death, El had assumed that her only reminder of him would be her memories. But now, this new life inside her was a living reminder of the husband she had lost so long ago. Completely awash with happiness, El looked up at Cait.

Cait, on the other hand, stared blankly at the screen, her eyes wide with shock. The cause of all her doubts was right in front of her, on that tiny screen. What was she going to do now? Cait had had El all to herself and this, this _thing,_ had stolen her away. Now, if El kept her around, Cait would always have to settle for second best.

Sensing Cait’s shock, and unenthusiastic reaction, El reached out and gently took Cait’s hand.

Jumping at the contact, Cait looked down and saw El smiling lovingly up at her. El looked so happy about everything she heard, but Cait couldn’t bring herself to feel the same way. Eventually, not wishing to seem unsupportive, Cait forced a toothless smile.

“So, would you like to know the baby’s sex?” Doctor Sun asked, returning El and Cait to the matter at hand.

“No, no. I don’t want to know.” El said, quickly turning away from Cait.

“Okay. Well, for the future, you will need to rest up and avoid all kinds of radiation, if possible. Have you been doing any heavy lifting lately?” Doctor Sun asked.

Biting her lip, El contemplated her answer. “Urrm, well, I did drag my girlfriend away from some warzones a couple of times.”

Doctor Sun crossed his arms. “That’s definitely off the table now. Your girlfriend may have to take your place when it comes to the warzones.” He said, looking at Cait.

El nodded. “Of course, Dcotor. We…We have a lot to talk about.” she said, looking up at Cait and holding her hand tightly.

Cait simply looked away and remained silent, already accepting her new role as second best.

* * *

Once Doctor Sun had been adequately paid, El and Cait found themselves back at El’s house. After showing Cait her upstairs quarters for the first time, both women quietly unpacked their things.

Eventually, El was fully unpacked and she set about the difficult task of talking through her new reality with Cait. “Cait…I think, maybe, at some point, we should talk about where we go from here.” El said timidly, not wanting to sound too forceful.

Cait immediately looked away and stiffened. She moved her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Sensing Cait’s insecurity, El walked around the bed and approached her. “Cait, are you alright? You haven’t said anything since we arrived in Diamond City.” El asked, attempting to take Cait’s hand.

Cait quickly moved her hand away and shuddered, trying to speak. “I just…need some time…to…think things through.” she stuttered, not wanting to look El in the eye.

Understanding Cait’s need for space, El nodded and tried to give a friendly smile. “Okay. Well, maybe, we can talk things through later?”

“Fine.” Cait said abruptly, becoming increasingly frustrated with El’s prying and questioning. Cait then started walking away and down the stairs.

“Cait, where are you going?” El asked, confused by Cait’s attitude.

Cait stopped halfway down the stairs but did not turn around. “I’m goin’ to the bar to…to clear my head.” She said glumly.

“O-Oh.” El stuttered, surprised by Cait’s emotionless reply. “I…I was going to take Piper up on her offer earlier.”

This time, Cait turned around, a look of annoyance plastered across her face. “Can’t you just let me fuckin’ have this?” she snapped, her eyes burning with frustration.

El’s eyes widened and she took a step back, shocked by, and slightly fearful of, Cait’s effrontery. “Oh…urrr…okay, sorry.” El stammered, looking down in passive submission.

Tuning back around, Cait reached the bottom of the stairs and made her way to the door, collecting her jacket on the way.

“Cait?” El called to her.

Stopping in her tracks, Cait looked up nonchalantly.

Noticing Cait’s irritated expression, El needed to approach this carefully. “Please…Please don’t drink too much.” El said, sounding almost like a whisper.

Lowering her eyes, and biting her lip, Cait’s face softened slightly as she considered El’s words. Eventually, however, Cait continued walking.

Hearing the door open and shut, El sat down on the bed and sighed heavily. Placing a hand over her stomach, El sat alone, desperately fighting the urge to breakdown in tears. 

* * *

Taking a deep breath, El composed herself as she knocked on the front door. After everything that had happened in the last few days, maybe some friendly company would help set El’s mind at ease.

After hearing sounds of muffled fumbling, the door opened to reveal Piper. Seeing El standing outside, Piper gave a beaming smile and opened her arms. “Blue!” she said enthusiastically. “It’s so good to see you. Come in, come in.”

Greatly relieved by Piper’s characteristic friendliness, El smiled happily. “Hey Piper. Thanks for having me.” El said as she stepped through the threshold.

“Oh, don’t mention it. It’s been way too long. Have a seat and take a load off.” Piper said, gesturing to the couch as she closed the door.

El walked through and removed her coat. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she placed it on the end of Piper’s couch. Piper’s home looked exactly the same as it had the last time she was here; cluttered and messy. Piles of papers crowded almost every inch of free space and scribbled notes covered every piece of furniture. Piper obviously didn’t mind whether she had guests or not.

As if she had just been hit by a car, El was suddenly thrown off her steady footing as Nat collided with her. “Blue! You’re here! It’s so good to see you!” Nat called happily as she wrapped her arms around El’s side.

“H-Hey Nat.” El said, still trying to steady herself from Nat’s surprise hug. “How have you been? Taking care of your sister, I hope.”

“Doing my best. Have you been on anymore adventures?” Nat asked as she detached herself from El’s side.

El smirked and raised her eyebrows, imitating a look of deep thought. “Yeah, a few. But mainly grown up adventures.” El said cryptically to heighten Nat’s excitement.

“Tell me, please!” Nat asked, jumping up and down, pleading with El for more information.

“Maybe when you’re older.” Piper said as she walked around and stood next to El. “Now, go on, Nat. Blue and I need to do some grown up girl talk.”

“But I wanna stay. I’m a grown up.” Nat pleaded, her smile dropping.

“ _Nat…_ ” Piper insisted, crossing her arms.

“Fine.” Nat huffed as she scrunched her face up and stomped away upstairs.

Exhaling contentedly, Piper turned back to El. “Right, now we’re alone, have a seat.” Piper said, gesturing to the couch. “Where’s Cait?”

El’s smile immediately dropped and she fumbled an answer. “She…urrr…couldn’t make it. Not…not feeling herself.” She stuttered unconvincingly.

“Oh…okay.” Piper replied, trying to hide her confusion. “Well, we can still have fun, can’t we?” she continued, attempting to retrieve the situation.

“Sure.” El nodded, her face returning to a modest smile. Taking a seat on the couch, El settled down and crossed her legs.

“Can I get you a drink? I’ve got some Nuka Colas if you would like one.” Piper said as she pulled a variety of different Nuka Cola bottles from one of her kitchen cupboards.

“I would love one. Don’t mind what flavour.” El replied, leaning forward to keep an eye on Piper.

Eventually, Piper returned and placed an open bottle on the table in front of El. She then took a seat on a chair opposite and similarly settled down. “Went for a Nuka Cherry, if that suits.” Piper said, pointing to the bottle.

“You spoil me, Piper.” El chuckled as she collected the bottle and took a long refreshing swig.

“I aim to please.” Piper replied, holding her hands up in a pose of self-congratulation. She soon, however, dropped her hands and sat forward. “So, what have you been doing all this time?" Piper asked, already getting down to business.

El chuckled and similarly sat forward, placing her bottle back on the table. “Well, after returning from the Castle, I made arrangements to return to Sanctuary to help with the teleporter build. So, Cait and I made our way northwards.

“How’s the build been going?” Piper interjected as she pulled a small notepad and pencil from her jacket pocket.

“It’s been going okay, just very slow.” El replied, her smile dropping. “We…we couldn’t stay long because we encountered some problems. The night we arrived, Cait…Cait took an overdose and blacked out outside in the middle of a storm.”

Piper’s eyes widened and her pencil stopped moving. “An overdose?”

El looked down and nodded. “Yes, an overdose. I always had my suspicions. I just didn’t want to believe them. It turned out that Cait was suffering from a Psycho addiction. She…she was too afraid to tell me. When I found her the next morning, she looked so scared. After I cleaned her up, and she fessed up to it, I set about getting her the help she needed.”

Piper’s mouth was almost completely agape by this point. “Where would you go for help like that?” she asked, leaning forward even further.

“When she came forward, Cait told me of a vault that she had heard about, Vault 95, on the edge of the Glowing Sea. Cait had heard that there was a machine that could cure her addiction.” El continued, her hands fidgeting slightly as she remembered that day.

“I had no idea there even was a vault on the edge of the Glowing Sea. I’m assuming you made it.” Piper asked, becoming increasingly enthralled by El’s story.

“Yeah, we made it.” El nodded. “It was a hard battle though. The place was crawling with raiders, but we fought our way through.”

“Did you find the cure?” Piper questioned further.

El nodded again. “We did. Cait did take a lot of convincing, but she eventually did the procedure. Happily, it worked, but it was very painful, and it left Cait unconscious. In my panic, I couldn’t think of anything else to do except drag her back to Sanctuary.”

Piper sat up, frowning in disbelief. “Wait, you dragged Cait back to Sanctuary from the edge of the Glowing Sea?”

El nodded and sighed, herself still amazed at what she had done. After hearing the news from earlier that day, El wondered if she would have made the same decision if she had her time again. “Yeah. It wasn’t easy, but I made it.”

“And, I assume she’s recovered well enough?” Piper asked rhetorically, herself already sure of the answer.

El gave a toothless smile as she remembered how far Cait had come. “She has, and she’s done so, so well.”

“Oh, well, I’m so proud of her. Wish she was here so I could pat her on the back.” Piper said chirpily. “So, what happened after?”

El’s cheeks went red as she thought through what she would say next. “Urrm…well…once Cait recovered sufficiently, we set about working on the build. But…urrr…once again, things ended up distracting us.”

“What things?” Piper asked, frowning again.

El bit her lip and began fidgeting with her hands again. “Urrm, well, in the days after returning from Vault 95, Cait and I started developing feelings for each other. After a few days, and a few sleepless nights, we couldn’t hold back and told each other. Then we…we…well, you know.” El said bashfully.

Piper raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth in total surprise. She was completely astonished by El’s words. “Blue! Oh my god! I’m so happy for you. I hope you treat each other well.” she said, smiling happily.

“Yeah, we…we…” El faltered as all the thoughts and feelings from the previous days flowed into her mind. Suddenly, a pained sob escaped El’s lips and she buried her face in her hands, unable to keep from crying.

Immediately, Piper dropped her notepad and moved to sit next to El. “Hey, hey, Blue, what’s wrong? Where’s the fire?” Piper asked as she placed a hand on El’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Piper. I shouldn’t burden you with my problems. I just couldn’t help it.” El said between sobs, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Piper leaned forward. “But, what’s up? Why are you so upset? You got the girl.” she asked, attempting to add a silver lining to the situation.

El sniffled and nodded. “I did. For a week, at least. But, a couple of days ago, something I never could have imagined happened and ruined everything.”

Piper shuffled closer. “What happened? Did Cait do something? If Cait did something, I want to know.” She said, her voice firm with determination.

El shook her head. “Cait didn’t do anything, well, except this.” she answered, gesturing to the bruise around her eye. “A couple of days ago, I…I…I found out that I’m pregnant. Pregnant with…my…my husband’s child.”

Piper’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, looking like El had just slapped her. “Blue…I…I…I don’t know what to say. C-Congratulation, I guess.” she said, unable to find a better answer.

“Thanks, I suppose.” El forced herself to say. “When I told Cait, she thought that I had cheated on her. I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen and we had a huge fight. Then she ran away. I managed to track her down and win her back, but it hasn’t been the same. She barely speaks to me. She never looks me in the eye. We still share a bed, but we always sleep apart. I…I just feel like she’s slowly slipping away.” El said as she wiped her eyes and sniffed.

Piper’s often chirpy face instantly turned into one of a serious investigative journalist. “Have you tried to talk to Cait about this?” she asked.

El nodded, trying to remain composed. “I’ve tried. I tried after my scan with Doctor Sun. But Cait didn’t want to talk. She then walked off to the Dugout. That’s really why she isn’t here.”

Piper thought about El’s words, thinking through what she would say next. “Blue, is Cait stubborn at all?” she asked.

El couldn’t help but chuckle at Piper’s question. “Very.” she replied.

“But, does she do as she’s told in the end?” Piper asked further.

El nodded, curious of where Piper was going with her questioning. “Eventually. If you nag her enough.”

At that response, Piper tapped El’s leg and gave her an accomplished look. “There you go. If you force the issue, she’ll eventually listen to you. If Cait didn’t want to listen, she would have never come back. The fact that she’s still with you is proof enough that she still cares about you.” Piper then gave El a reassuring smile.

Listening to Piper’s words, El completely understood. Piper was absolutely right. Forcing the issue had worked in the past. Why shouldn’t it work now? And, the very fact that Cait was still following her must mean that she still cared. Eventually, El nodded, feeling sure of herself for the first time in days. “Thank you, Piper. I…I really needed this.” El said as she wrapped Piper in a tight hug.

Piper chuckled and returned the hug. “Hey, even the strongest people need help sometimes.”

After several seconds, both women pulled away and returned to their original positions. Almost immediately, however, Piper leaned forward again, a mischievous look in her eyes. “So, pregnant, eh? How far along are you?”

Finally, able to smile, El sat back and relaxed. “About fourteen weeks, give or take.”

“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Piper questioned further.

El shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”

Piper raised her eyebrows and nodded, understanding El completely. Her face, however, turned serious again. “But, how are _you_? Are you happy?”

“I’m…I’m okay. Still in shock, but okay. I could do without the vomiting though.” El answered, sighing deeply as she placed a hand on her stomach.

Piper smiled but shook her head slowly. “I don’t know how you can do it.”

Raising her eyebrows, El looked back at Piper. “Never had your eye on anyone?” she asked curiously.

Piper chuckled and shook her head again. “The press waits for nothing, and no one.” she said sensationally, holding her hand up in a commanding gesture. “I was thinking though, Piper is a good name for a boy or a girl.”

El laughed properly this time. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” she said, covering her mouth to contain her laughter.

Piper, however, was not finished. “And think about this for a title, _The Oldest Mother in the Commonwealth_.” she continued, gesturing her hand from left to right, imagining the title in front of her.

“If you use that title, I will never speak to you again.” El replied seriously, playfully jabbing a finger at Piper.

Both women laughed happily, visibly enjoying their friendly conversation. El, especially, basked in the happy feelings that talking to Piper gave her. With Piper’s added confidence, hopefully, El would have enough courage to talk things through with Cait.

* * *

_“It’s time for you to leave, Cait.” El said emotionlessly, standing in the doorway of her Sanctuary home, her new baby cradled in her arms._

_Standing on the step outside, Cait pleaded with El to let her back in. “No! El, please don’t throw me out! I love you!” she begged forlornly._

_El’s face, however, remained unchanged. “No, Cait. You don’t belong here.”_

_Tears welled up in Cait’s eyes and she dropped to her knees. “No! Please, El, you…you said that we would be a family.” Cait continued to beg._

_El looked down at Cait scornfully. “I did. But you do not belong in this family. You belong out there, with the other scum of the Commonwealth.”_

_Cait was, by this point, crying pitifully on her knees as she saw the form of a small child appear from behind El and stand at her side. Cait’s eyes widened as she saw that the form had no features to speak of. “Is she leaving, mom?” the childlike form asked._

_El looked down at the featureless childlike form and smiled. “Yes, Shaun. She is.” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder._

_Looking up at El, the formless Shaun, and the baby, Cait suddenly felt herself being dragged away. With nothing to hold onto, Cait was unable to resist the invisible force pulling her away. “EL! PLEASE DON’T GO!” Cait screamed as El’s home become smaller and smaller in her vision._

_“Goodbye, Cait.” Cait heard El’s emotionless voice in the distance._

_“EL! NO! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” Cait screamed hoarsely as El disappeared from view. As Cait stared forward, her surroundings melted away into a blank white. Completely lost and dumbfounded, Cait looked around frantically at her surroundings, desperate to find anything of interest. There was, however, nothing in sight, just blank whiteness._

_Suddenly, Cait heard something behind her. Turning around, Cait found herself transported to a grimy office in, what looked like, a raider settlement. In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk with a series of different objects scattered over it. Behind the desk was a large, but tattered, red leather chair. Looking around confusedly, Cait noticed something uncomfortably locked tightly around her neck. Bringing her hands up around the object, Cait was shocked to find her wrists locked inside a set of manacles. Where the hell was she?_

_Still trying to work everything out, Cait noticed something out of her peripheral vision. Turning to her right, Cait saw a cracked mirror resting against the wall. Walking closer, Cait frowned at what she saw. It was her, but…different. She was skinnier, with no muscle. Her face looked younger, almost adolescent. Her clothes had also changed; she hadn’t worn clothes like these for years. Eventually, as she looked at her teenage reflection, Cait realised the object around her neck was a shock collar._

_Almost instantly, Cait knew exactly where she was. Taking a step back, everything made sense; the manacles, the shock collar, her clothes, her teenage appearance, her surroundings. This was the day her parents had sold her into slavery. “No!” Cait thought to herself. “Not here. Not today.”_

_The clang of a heavy door shocked Cait out of her thoughts and she whipped around. Standing in front of her was a tall sinister individual dressed in a tattered old suit, with a deep scar running down his face. “So, you’re the fresh meat I’ve heard so much about.” he said with a lecherous grin._

_Already knowing exactly where this memory was going, Cait tried to run. But, no matter how hard she tried, Cait was unable to move. Here Cait was, reliving one of the worst days of her life, unable to fight it._

_The individual approached Cait and looked her up and down. “They were right about you. You’re a cute one. We don’t get a lot of redheads around here." he said slyly. Walking around, Cait’s breath hitched and she shivered as he ran his hand up Cait’s slender leg and cup the side of her butt. “Slim, and juicy.” he continued as he groped Cait._

_Cait breathed heavily and scrunched her eyes shut as he then ran his groping fingers through her thick red hair and leaned in to smell her neck. Cait could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck, terrified of what he was going to do next. Cait was highly conscious that, despite her abusive upbringing, she was still a virgin. She didn’t want to remember where this memory was going._

_Sensing her distress, Cait’s tormentor walked around so he was standing in front of her. “Sssh. Don’t be afraid. We’re a happy family here.” he said softly, cupping Cait’s chin in his palm and squeezing her cheeks between his thumb and fingers._

_Moving his hand off her chin, Cait’s tormentor then proceeded to run his hand down to the top hem of her small t-shirt. Gripping the top hem in his large hand, with one heavy pull, he ripped the garment’s fabric, exposing Cait’s unsupported breasts. Owing to the state of disrepair in Cait’s clothing, the garment virtually disintegrated. Desperately trying to shield her modesty with the garment’s remains, Cait looked down and brought her manacled hands up to cover her exposed breasts._

_Suddenly, Cait felt her tormentor's hands grab her forcibly from behind and bring her close. Her tormentor's left hand gripped tightly around her chin, whilst his right hand violently groped the soft white flesh of her breast. “You’ve got an impressive little body, kiddo. We’re gonna like you very much.” Cait’s tormentor leered as he pinched one of Cait’s nipples between his fingers._

_Cait whimpered and squirmed violently as she tried to break free. “GET OFF ME!” Cait screamed as she desperately tried to wriggle free. But, no matter how much she writhed, she was unable to move._

_“Oh, you like this, don’t you? I bet it’s making you wet.” Cait’s tormentor whispered as his hand dislodged from her breast and began circling around the crotch of her trousers._

_Finally, with no other option, Cait made her move. “I SAID GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” Cait screamed as she violently bit down on her tormentor’s left hand._

_Yelling loudly as he loosened his grip, Cait’s tormentor reeled away, clutching his bitten hand. “You fuckin’ bitch!” he yelled. Finally, free from his grasp, Cait swung around and tried to look for an exit. Cait, however, had barely turned around when she saw a large hand come across and brutally swipe her across the face._

_Pain instantly erupted around Cait’s left eye and she brought her manacled hands up to nurse her throbbing skull. Cait’s breath was then completely knocked out of her as her tormentor landed a powerful punch directly into her stomach. Cait wheezed loudly as she bent down and tried to catch her breath._

_Cait then suddenly felt her tormentor's hands tightly grip her waist and swing her around, slamming her front first into the desk. As Cait tried to regain her senses, searing pain unexpectedly erupted in her neck and shocked its way through every inch of her body. Cait screamed and her body contorted violently as her shock collar sent out powerful stabbing electrical shocks that burned and paralysed her._

_After several excruciating seconds, the torment ended and Cait slumped forward, limply bent over the desk. Cait felt powerless as she heard her tormentor's heavy footsteps approach behind her. Leaning over her, Cait felt her tormentor's hot breath on the back of her neck again. “Don’t fuckin’ do that again.” he said threateningly._

_Pulling away, Cait then felt his hand run down her back and tightly grip the waistband of her trousers. With another heavy pull, similar to her top, the material ripped, exposing Cait’s butt._

_The last thing Cait heard was the menacing sound of her tormentor unbuckling his belt. “I think it’s time we broke you in, don’t you think?” he grunted with an evil grin as he forced himself upon Cait._

_Cait screamed and yelled pitifully as pain unlike anything she had ever experienced before erupted inside her core and tore its way up her body. With every brutal thrust, tears streamed down Cait’s face and she whimpered pitiably._

_Unable to fight, or even move, Cait buried her face in the desk’s surface and cried. With nothing left to do, Cait could only let the torture take its course._

_“CAIT?!” a loud but distant voice suddenly called out._

* * *

“CAIT!?” El shouted next to Cait as she gently shook her.

Hearing El’s voice, Cait’s eyes flashed open, ready to escape her tormentor’s torturous grasp. “GET OFF ME!” Cait screamed as she shot up and scrambled to the end of the bed.

“Cait, it’s alright. You’re safe. It was a nightmare.” El said, getting to her knees and attempting to look Cait in the eye.

Sitting at the end of the bed, Cait’s eyes darted around her surroundings. To her relief, the room of her dream was gone, and her tormentor was gone. Now, she was back in El’s Diamond City home, the room illuminated by a single bedside lamp. Still traumatised by her nocturnal torment, Cait bowed her head, hugged her knees to her chest, and tried not to break down in tears.

“Cait?” El’s voice shocked Cait back to reality and she glanced up to find El looking across at her. The look on her face was both loving and concerned. Cait wanted nothing more than to climb into El's arms and feel her soothing embrace. But, doing that might imply that she had forgiven El.

Sensing Cait’s dilemma, El shuffled herself so she was sitting with her legs crossed and opened her arms. “Cait, come here.” she said commandingly, but lovingly at the same time.

Cait glanced out of her peripheral vision at El’s loving embrace. She wanted it so much. Eventually, with her mouth quivering, Cait was unable to fight her emotions anymore. In an instant, Cait scrambled across the bed and climbed onto El’s lap. Wrapping her legs around El’s waist, Cait buried her face into the top of El’s chest and wept.

As tears streamed down Cait’s face, staining her vest, El gently rocked Cait back and forth and slowly ran her fingers through Cait’s hair, massaging her scalp. “Ssssh, Cait. it’s alright. You’re safe. They can’t hurt you anymore.” El whispered softly into Cait’s ear.

Cait, however, only cried harder; her body shivering as El held her. She was completely inconsolable and only wrapped her limbs tighter around El’s body, clinging on for dear life. Eventually, El began humming soft soothing tunes into Cait’s ear in an effort to calm her down. At no point did she stop rocking Cait or cease running her fingers through her hair.

This method appeared to calm Cait down and her tears began to mercifully subside. However, despite her tears stopping, Cait remained firmly locked around El’s waist, unwilling to move. El needed to ease Cait off her lap and get to the bottom of this. “Cait, tell me what happened.” El whispered softly into Cait’s ear, attempting to ease Cait out of her shell.

Cait shook her head vigorously and attempted to bury her face further into the top of El’s chest. Her breathing also quickened as residual sobs escaped her lips.

Not willing to let this rest, El tried again. “Cait, if you don’t talk about this, the nightmares won’t go away.” she said, sounding more determined this time.

Reluctantly, Cait slowly lifted her head and looked up into El’s glinting hazel eyes. Seeing the love and trust in them, Cait nodded and loosened her grip on El.

With Cait’s legs unhooked from her body, El shifted herself so she was sitting with her back to the bed’s headboard. Similarly, Cait adjusted herself so she was curled up in El’s embrace, the side of her head resting securely on El’s chest. With Cait comfortable, El probed again. “Alright, Cait, just tell me what happened. But, take your time.” El said softly, gently stoking Cait’s hair.

“P-Please don’t be mad.” Cait said, shivering slightly as she spoke.

“I promise.” El replied.

Cait sniffled before beginning. “I...I dreamed that we were at home, in Sanctuary. You…you were standin’ on the front step and I was outside. You were holdin’ your new...your new baby in your arms. And, you…you…you were tellin’ me to leave.”

El immediately gripped Cait tighter. She didn’t like where this dream was going.

“I…I tried to talk to you, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Then…then your son came walkin’ up behind you and asked if I was leavin’. You said I was.”

El’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe that Cait had dreamt about Shaun. “You saw Shaun?” El interjected.

Cait sniffed and nodded. “I couldn’t see what he looked like, but you said his name. S-Somethin’ then started pullin’ me away from you. I tried to fight it, but nothin’ worked. I…I was screamin’ at you to come back, but you kept gettin’ further away. When I couldn’t see you anymore, all I could see was white.” Cait suddenly curled up further into El’s embrace, not wanting to carry on.

Gently rocking her, El eased Cait back out of her shell. “I said that I wouldn’t get mad.” El said, softly

Sniffling, Cait continued. “When…when I was lookin’ for you, I heard somethin’ behind me. When I turned around, I was in a grimy room in a raider settlement. I looked in a mirror and saw I was eighteen again. My hands were chained, and I had a shock collar on. It was the day my…my parents…s-sold me.”

El rested her head on top of Cait, holding her tight.

“Then the gang leader came in and…and started gropin’ me. I…I’d never done it before, so I tried fightin’ him off. Then he...he...beat me up and threw me on the desk and turned my shock collar on.” Cait shivered as she remembered both the shock collar, and what happened next. “When it stopped, he…he…tore my clothes off and…he…he… It hurt. It…it hurt s-so much.”

As El listened, tears were threatening to fall down her face. El knew far more about Cait’s past than most. But hearing Cait talk about what she had experienced always upset her. El could have cried from hearing what had happened to the woman she loved. “Oh, Cait. I’m so, so sorry.” she said despondently.

Unsure what she meant by her response, Cait started to panic in El’s arms, her mind spiralling with uncertainty. “I…I didn’t wanna do it, honest. But they had me chained, and I…I couldn’t move, and I…I…I was so scared.” Cait looked up at El, terrified that she would throw her off the bed like the rotten piece of meat she was. “Please believe me. I didn’t wanna do it-.”

Cait spiralling mind was completely stopped in its tracks when El grabbed both sides of her head and kissed her deeply. Feeling El’s soft lips on hers, Cait instantly relaxed and settled back into El’s embrace.

Pulling away, El looked deep into Cait’s eyes, her face loving, but serious. “I believe you, Cait. I would never be mad at you because of your past.” she said, cupping Cait’s cheek in her hand.

Seeing the trust in El’s enchanting face, Cait scrunched her eyes shut and nodded before she leaned in to steal another kiss. The kiss was short, but it meant the world to Cait. For the first time in days, Cait finally felt safe.

After a few minutes of cuddling in silence, El felt that she had to say something. Ever since talking to Piper, El had been looking for the right opportunity to force the issue of their future on Cait. As Cait spoke about her night terrors, El reached the conclusion that Cait would only feel truly safe if they talked things through now. Cait’s fears of abandonment had sparked these terrors, so forcing the issue of their future was the only way to stop them from coming back. “Cait, I think we need to talk. We have put it off long enough.” El eventually said curtly, attempting to broach the subject.

Upon hearing El’s request, Cait instinctively stiffened and shook her head. “N-No. I don’t…I can’t…I…I…” she stuttered, not able to find the words.

“Cait, if we don’t talk about this, the nightmares won’t go away.” El insisted, not willing to let this go.

Cait sighed heavily at El’s insistence, but reluctantly accepted that El was right. _“Why was El so goddamn smart?”_ Cait thought to herself. Lifting her head, Cait nodded. “Okay…”

Loosening her grip on Cait, El began. “Cait, what are you so afraid of?”

Struggling to find the right words, Cait tried to answer as best she could. “I’m just…scared that…when…when you have your baby, you…you won’t…won’t love me anymore.” she said timidly, too embarrassed to look El in the eye.

Stunned by Cait’s words, El’s reassurance mode went into overdrive. “Cait, I would never stop loving you because of that. Cait, I…I’ve wanted to tell you this the moment I found out I was pregnant, but, urrm, _other_ things got in the way.” El said, referencing their fight in the bathroom. “Cait, after this baby is born, I…I want you to stay with me.”

Cait looked down glumly. “As your bit on the side?” she asked, already accepting that as the answer.

“No, Cait. I…want to you stay…as…as a family. As a…mother.” El replied tentatively to soften the blow.

Cait’s eyes widened as all the blood drained from her face. She looked as if El had just slapped her. After a few seconds, however, Cait shuddered and violently shook her head. “W-What? N-N-No! I…I can’t do that! I can’t raise a kid. I’m…I’m fucked up!” she said despondently.

Steadying Cait shuddering body and taking her hand, El tried to reassure her. “Cait, I know. I know you’ve been through a lot, and that scares you. But you have proved time and time again that you are stronger than your tormentors, and I am _so_ proud of you. That’s why I love you, and that’s why I want you to stay and help me raise this child.” El sniffled as she fought off the tears welling up in her eyes.

Cait, however, wasn’t convinced. “But…But, what if I end up turnin’ into my parents?”

El gripped Cait’s hand tight. “Cait, you are not your parents!” she said authoritatively. “Your parents were scum, and you are _so_ much better than them. Listen to me, Cait, I know you’re scared. I am too. I…I never planned for any of this. But I know you for the person you truly are. That’s why I think you will be a wonderful mother." El thought for a few seconds before continuing. “And…children offer us a chance to be a better than we are. We’re what… _they_ grow beyond.”

Cait sat in El’s lap, attempting to think through El’s words. She had no reason to disbelieve El about what she was saying. El had never lied to her about anything. Why, when El had already had a baby, would this be any different? But, on the other hand, Cait was still terrified of her past haunting her, and, whether, deep inside, she was no different than her tormentors. She couldn’t inflict that on a child.

Seeing Cait’s eyes paralysed with fear and uncertainty, El tried a different approach. “Cait, I have roughly six months before I’m due. Why don’t we use those six months as a warmup period for you? I promise you it will be okay.” El said, her eyes beaming with the hazel glint that Cait found so mesmerising.

After several moments of deep thought and soul searching, Cait nodded. “Okay, I…I believe you. Havin’ some time m-might be good.” She said, both elated and terrified at the same time.

El gave a beaming smile, awash with emotion. “Of course, Cait. I understand. Thank you.” she said, kissing Cait’s forehead. Her face, however, soon hardened again and she looked deep into Cait’s eyes. “But I need you to promise me something, Cait.”

Cait instinctively bit her lip, unsure about what El would ask her.

“I want you to come back to me. When…When you come home, you…you left a lot of _you_ behind, and you haven’t been the same since. If we’re to make this work, I need you with me, all of you.” El said resolutely, clasping Cait’s hand tightly.

Cait sniffled and curled into El’s embrace. “I’m s-sorry.” she said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to. I…I was just scared.”

El nodded and kissed the top of Cait’s head. “I know, Cait. I forgive you.”

As a means of solidifying her apology, Cait raised her head and leaned in to kiss El on the lips. The kiss was long and passionate, similar to the night they had confessed their feelings to each other. Cait felt as if she had finally come home as she rekindled El’s familiar taste. Both women could not have been happier to have each other back in their lives.

Eventually, El and Cait pulled away and stared at each other. In was in this moment that Cait smiled for the first time in days. “I’ve missed kissin’ you.” she said bashfully, her cheeks going red.

El couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve missed kissing _you_.” she replied, cupping Cait’s cheek in her hand. “Now, come on. Why don’t we give sleep another go?”

Cait nodded in response and they both set about adjusting themselves for sleep. Before long, El was lying on her back with Cait cuddled up next to her; Cait's head resting peacefully on her chest. El smiled to herself as she watched Cait cuddle up next to her. After those emotional days in the wilderness, Cait was finally back alongside her.

Turning the bedside lamp off and wrapping her arm around the back of Cait’s waist, El gently stoked her side. “Remember, Cait. This child inside me is not just mine, it’s yours as well. You will be a wonderful mother. I promise." El said softly as darkness enveloped them.

As a first step in accepting her new reality, Cait tentatively rested her hand on El’s stomach. In response, El placed her other hand on top of Cait’s and, once more, kissed the top of Cait’s head.

With the march of sleep unrelenting, El and Cait were soon completely sound. Neither woman knew what the future held for them. But, whatever happened, they would face it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> I really debated with myself about whether I should include the second part of Cait's nightmare. It was not an enjoyable thing to write up. However, I eventually reached the conclusion that it should be included. This is part of Cait's story, and she is the character she is because of it. Furthermore, I hope that people will read this story and agree that the behaviour portrayed in that dream sequence is disgusting and abhorrent. 
> 
> Anyway, please leave a comment and kudos if you can. I love to read to your comments. They really help me along. 
> 
> In terms of the future, I will try and get new chapters out as regularly as I can. 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you all on the next chapter.


	12. New Realities: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait continue this new stage in their relationship. On the surface, they are fine. But the past still finds ways of haunting them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> Hope you are all keeping safe. 
> 
> So, this chapter's word count really spiralled out of control. When I finished, it came to just over 10000 words. Not that I'm complaining. I like getting big chapters out with lots of content. 
> 
> Also, in the past couple of weeks, I finished the story of The Last of Us: Part II. What an emotional rolacoaster that was. I absolutely LOVED it! It also gave me real confidence in how I have portrayed Cait in this story. While I was playing the game, I found loads of similarities between Cait and Ellie's personalities. I even found similarities with Abby's character, which I was not expecting at first. Overall, the game gave me a lot to think about in this story. When I first started this story, I was still trying to work out the characters. But, having such a high profile game portray their characters in not too dissimilar ways was quite vindicating at times. That is just my opinion though. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this latest chapter. 
> 
> *WARNING*: This chapter has serious smut in it, so you have been warned. But, honestly, this story is rated explicit, so what did you expect. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Zipping up her vault suit, El strode into the living area and collected her coat from beside the front door.

“Where you goin’?” Cait asked, turning her body to look behind the living room sofa.

“I’m just going out for an hour or two. Personal errand.” El replied cryptically as she slipped her coat over her shoulders.

“Where is this personal errand then?” Cait pried further, an inquisitive smirk spreading across her lips.

El bit her lip, apprehensive about answering. “It’s…It’s at the vault.” she said quietly, her eyes drooping to look at her boots.

Cait’s smile dropped and she shrank away slightly. “Do…Do you need me to come with you?” Cait asked, attempting to sound supportive.

Seeing the thoughtfulness in Cait’s offer, El just chuckled and shook her head. “No, don’t worry, Cait. This is something I would rather do myself.” Taking a step forward, El pulled Cait onto her knees so they were at roughly equal height. Leaning in, El kissed Cait deeply, her lips savouring the taste of her lover.

Cait immediately relaxed and placed her hands on the sides of El’s belly. Gently, she ran hands over the soft material of El’s vault suit. A couple of months had passed since their trip to Diamond City and El’s belly had grown consistently throughout that time. Whilst her belly did sometimes make El feel self-conscious about her body, Cait had taken a liking to it and enjoyed running her hands over it.

Pulling away, El lifted a hand and stroked Cait’s cheek. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.” she eventually said.

Cait nodded and looked down. Upon looking down, Cait’s smile returned and she started to laugh. “I still can’t believe you found one of those stupid vault suits for pregnant women.” Cait said, stoking El’s belly.

Similarly looking down, El also couldn’t help but laugh. One side effect of El’s growth was that her clothes were starting to get too small for her. As El was loathed to give up wearing her vault suit, Codsworth had gone on a search of Vault 111 and, miraculously, found a vault suit designed exclusively for pregnant women. “Thank Codsowrth for finding it. Although, I am still a little confused why pregnancy vault suits were in a vault designed for freezing people. It looks pretty good though, don’t you think?” El said, putting her hands on her hips.

Cait looked El up and down bit her lip. El, as always, looked great. She, however, shuffled closer and gripped the vault suit’s zip. “Just one thing. Show off what you got.” Cait said mischievously as she lowered the zip slightly to expose El’s even more pronounced cleavage.

El sighed playfully and raised her eyebrows at Cait. Alongside her belly, El’s already large breasts had also grown somewhat, extenuating her bust even more than before. Whilst El had gone through this process before, El found that it caused nothing but trouble, especially when she was trying to get Cait to listen to her. “You know what you are, don’t you?” El asked rhetorically, playfully exacerbated by Cait’s behaviour.

Cait had to think for several seconds, trying to remember the word that El used. “In… Incor-… incorrigible?”

“Yep. Incorrigible. A huge pain in the arse.” El confirmed, a smug smile on her face.

Cait scrunched her face up in an adorable gurn and leaned in to steal another kiss from El. El quickly returned the kiss and then turned to front door. “I’ll be back in a little while. I love you.” El said, looking back at Cait as she opened the font door.

“Love you too.” Cait replied, smiling as she leaned over the back of the sofa.

With a beaming smile on her face, El walked through the front door and out into Sanctuary.

* * *

The heavy sound of the lift brought El down into Vault 111. Stepping off the platform, El walked up the metal steps towards the vault entrance; the sound of water splashing under her heavy boots as she trudged forward.

As El entered the main foyer of the vault, she couldn’t help but remember the day she had been frozen. How Vault-Tec had tricked her and her family into believing they would be safe when the bombs inevitably fell. How she had to strip off and squeeze herself into a tight-fitting vault suit before being taken any further. Although, given how often El wore hers, she couldn’t moan too much.

Heading into the administration office El couldn’t help but notice the skeletons strewn across the floor. El wondered if they ever questioned what Vault-Tec had asked them to do. How many times had they walked past her frozen body before they themselves succumbed to Vault-Tec’s bloodlust, El thought to herself?

Spying a bright light to her left, El looked up at a locked armoury cabinet jutting out from the wall. Peering through the glass, El spotted an impressive looking gun locked behind a glass shield. There seemed to be a strange cold vapour emanating from it, almost like a liquid nitrogen vapour. El took a step back and smirked. Maybe, when she visited again, she could bring Cait to unlock the door.

Continuing her journey, El wandered past the now rotting corpses of the Radroaches lying on the vault floor. El scrunched her nose at the corpses as she remembered her first encounter with them. El had been so dazed from thawing out and was completely lost to what was happening at the time. She couldn’t have imagined she would, after two-hundred years of cryosleep, have to punch a radioactively oversized bug to death.

Finally, El reached her destination, the cryochamber. Looking around, El remembered the day she was led unwittingly into a two-hundred-year sleep, only to have her life and family destroyed in the process. Remembering that day still left a deep hole in El’s heart that would not be easily healed. It was smaller than before, but still open. Stepping off the steps, El quickly tied the belt of her coat around her waist to cover herself. A little surprise never hurt anybody.

Turning right, El stood in front of a crypod and looked up. As expected, Nate’s lifeless body remained completely unmoved. Maybe this visit would go a little better than the last one, El hoped. “Hey Nate. I’m back. It’s…urr…it’s been a while. I meant to visit earlier, but… _other_ things happened.” El couldn’t stop smiling as she spoke, remembering everything that she had done.

El continued. “So, remember when I talked about the feelings I was having for my friend, Cait? Well, turns out I wasn’t alone. When I got home, we told each other and…and…and…” El stalled as her cheeks went bright red, “Let’s just say we’re together now.” she said blushingly.

Smiling bashfully, El began fidgeting with her hands, conscious of what she was hiding under her coat. “I wish you could meet her, Nate. I think you would really like her. She _is_ rough around the edges, but she’s wonderful underneath.” El’s smile, however, dropped slightly as she remembered Cait’s inner struggles. “Cait is still dealing with a lot, but we’re getting there, slowly.”

El looked up again and received no reaction from her husband’s corpse. Out of a contribution of exhaustion from the extra weight she was carrying, and discomfort of tying her coat so tightly around her waist, El knew she had to move on. “Nate, I would love to talk about Cait more, but that’s not really why I’m here. it’s something more personal.” El’s hand began to fiddle with the knot of her coat belt as she continued. “When you were taken from me all that time ago, I thought that you were truly gone forever.” El then began untying the knot. “Well…urrm…you…urrr…left…a little something behind.” El said, biting her lip as she moved the two halves of her coat away to reveal her round pregnant belly.

Cupping the underside of her belly in her hand, El’s smile returned to her lips. Finally, El was able to tell Nate the news. “It seems that romantic night we had together _did_ have consequences after all.” El said playfully.

El’s hand, gently stroking her belly, however, quickly turned into an accusing finger that she jabbed at Nate’s body. “Now, before you say anything, it’s your fault I’m like this. If you hadn’t got me so horny, I would have reminded you to use protection. You knew full well how ticklish I am down there.” El accused, doing her best to sound commanding.

Eventually, El lowered her finger and placed it back on her belly. Sighing, she knew there was no point in complaining now. “Anyway,” El continued, “I’m about five months along at the moment. My clothes are now getting tight. I’ve had to switch to one of these maternity vault suits.” El immediately began to laugh. “You wouldn’t believe it, but, Codsworth found one of these vault suits here, in Vault 111. What a maternity vault suit is doing in a vault like this is beyond me.” El said between bouts of laughter.

Taking a step forward, El looked down and her smile returned her normal. “Back to it, I suppose. The doctor did ask if I wanted to know the baby’s sex, but I told him that I didn’t want to know. You know how much I liked surprises.” El said, leaning her shoulder against the door of the cyropod. “I could do without the extra weight, the discomfort when sleeping, and the abnormally swollen tits though. Who would have thought my tits could hold so much milk?” El huffed in annoyance as she looked down at her cleavage poking ostentatiously out of her vault suit. “Well, Cait’s not complaining.” El shrugged.

Pretty soon, however, El was struggling to fight off the tears welling up in her eyes. “Oh Nate, you should be here. You should be here for your child.” El sniffed, bowing her head despondently. El just wanted Nate back. Her child deserved to have a father at its side. Nate had helped create this child, _he_ deserved to have a hand in raising it.

But, in that moment, El couldn’t stop think of Cait. Whilst El, in this instance, wished Nate was alive, having him here might be a double-edged sword. If Nate _was_ alive, El might never have met Cait; and if she had, she might never have fallen for her like she did. After everything that had happened between them, El couldn’t imagine her world without Cait. Maybe some things were meant to happen for a reason, El thought.

El quickly shook her head to dispel the thoughts in her head; El loved Cait and that was the end of it. “But, at least, this child will be a reminder of you; and I’ll have Cait with me.” she said, returning to her original conversation. 

Once again, a smile crept across El’s lips. “Yep. Cait is going to be a mother. She…She is very scared, and that’s understandable. But, given how far she has come, I think she will do a wonderful job.” El closed her eyes, allowing a single tear to fall down her cheek. She wasn’t sure whether the tear was happy, or sad, or just her crazy hormones, but she didn’t care.

After a few moments, El opened her eyes and looked around. As usual, nothing could be heard except droplets of water and low hum of the generators. El wondered how long she had been down there. She should probably be getting back. “Nate, I would love to stay longer, but it’s probably getting late. Also, Cait will start wondering where I am.” El said, taking a step back and standing in front of the cyropod. “I promise I’ll visit again, when I’m a bit further along. I might even bring Cait so you can finally meet her.” El smiled happily at the prospect of Cait and Nate meeting.

Finally, El’s smile returned to normal and she prepared to leave. “Anyway, I best be going. I’ll see you again soon. I love you.” In a final gesture, El brought her fingers to her lips and kissed them. she then rested them on her belly before planting them on the glass window of the cryopod. It was a loving gesture and El hoped that, wherever Nate was, he would cherish a kiss from his wife and unborn child.

Bringing her hand back to her side, El turned to her right and headed towards the vault exit.

* * *

As the lift reached ground level, El squinted as the sun shone brightly in her eyes. Whilst the sun was, by now, hanging low in the sky, El underground escapade had left her eyes unadjusted to bright light.

Working her way down the hill, El couldn’t help but notice a change in her walking style. Owing to her body shape, El normally strode when she walked. Now, however, the extra weight she carried had turned her strides into something more akin to a waddle. El could do nothing but huff to herself, accepting that a low centre of gravity was just a fact of being five months pregnant.

After a quick stroll up the street, El finally reached home. Opening the front door, Cait, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, turned around to welcome her. “Hey El!” Cait greeted happily.

“Hey, sweetheart.” El greeted back as she closed the door and removed her coat. As El walked through the living area, she was similarly greeted by Dogmeat who enthusiastically reared up for attention. Easing herself onto her knees, El began rustling Dogmeat’s fur. “Hey boy. You been a good boy for Cait?” El asked as she stroked behind his ears and under his chin.

Dogmeat simply leaned in and licked El’s cheek.

Laughing loudly, El lifted herself back to her feet and allowed Dogmeat to potter off around her legs. It was then that El got a good look at Cait.

Cait, who was now standing in front of her, had clearly gotten herself ready for when El returned. She was wearing the dark green shirt that El loved so much. She had also brushed her hair, so it was smooth and wavy, with her fringe tucked adorably behind her ear. Cait simply looked beautiful. El, however, knew Cait well enough to know that there was more to this. Whilst Cait had begun to take more pride in her appearance lately, she normally did it to help flaunt her looks and body to El. Cait clearly had an agenda. “How’d it go?” Cait eventually asked.

“Really well, actually.” El replied as she approached and put her hands on Cait’s hips. “You’re wearing my favourite shirt. And, oh, what’s this I see?” El asked as she looked down into Cait's shirt to find a lacy maroon coloured bra pushing up her large pale breasts. El had bought that set of underwear for Cait on their last trip to Diamond City. However, unlike the more practical underwear that El bought Cait, this set was purely cosmetic. “You’re wearing that fancy underwear I bought you.” El said with a coquettish smirk.

Cait’s cheeks went bright red. “Thought I’d make myself look nice for when you got back. You like it?” Cait asked, returning her own coquettish smirk.

“I do. I do.” El answered, running her hands up Cait’s slender waist. “You scrub up pretty nice sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Cait asked, cocking her head to one side and frowning.

“Yeah. _Sometimes_.” El insisted playfully, her coquettish smirk turning into a smug smile.

Cait chuckled as El leaned in to kiss her deeply. The kiss was long and passionate, both women, humming contentedly as they savoured the feel of each other’s lips. Similar to El, Cait rested her hands on El waist and began stroking her round belly. Both El and Cait appeared to lose themselves as they succumbed to their emotions.

Eventually, El and Cait pulled away and they both stared at each other, wondering whether they should make the next move. Cait certainly would have had no qualms in taking El right there. But that could come later, hopefully. “D-Dinner’s nearly ready.” Cait finally said, returning her and El back down to earth.

El glanced at the table and sighed happily. “Great! I’m so hungry, I could eat a house.” she said jovially.

Both El and Cait laughed loudly as they strolled towards the kitchen table and took their seats.

* * *

“Come on! We’re going out!” El exclaimed as the approached the back of the living room sofa, attempting to buckle her gun belt around her expanded waistline.

“We’re what?” Cait asked, turning her head to look at El from behind the sofa.

“We’re going out.” El repeated, finally able to buckle her belt around her waist. “I need to get out of Sanctuary for a while. Just to let off some steam. I can’t take another minute in this house.” El said as she put her hands on her hip and sighed heavily.

Cait gave a mischievous smile and stood up. “Where you wanna go?” she asked.

El breathed heavily through her nostrils as she thought about Cait’s question. “I’m not sure. I kinda just want to kill something.” she replied, a peculiar fire burning in her eyes.

Whilst Cait was open to killing something, she was unfamiliar with such a proposition coming from El. For some reason, El didn’t feel right. “Are you okay, El?” Cait asked, frowning in confusion.

El sighed loudly again and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine. My hormones are just going crazy in here. I have so much pent up energy that I can’t put anywhere. I’m both downright restless and really horny at the same time.”

Cait’s eyes widened, completely taken aback by El’s words. She hadn’t expected El to be so vocal about her feelings. Ever since they met, Cait had always seen El as a very calm and reserved individual, who could display passionate episodes of courage and compassion when needed. This new brashness was alien to how Cait imagined El. Cait, however, was happy to go along with it. “Well, I can help with the second thing.” Cait said, smiling coquettishly as she got to her knees and began running her hands up El’s waist.

“Maybe later.” El replied, taking Cait’s hands and removing them from her waist. “Right now, I just want to let off some steam and kill some irradiated animals.”

Cait’s coquettish smile immediately turned devilish. “I’m down for some pest control.” she said, resting her hands on the back of the sofa.

El then leaned in and passionately pushed her lips onto Cait’s. The kiss was long and sloppy, but both women couldn’t get enough. Cait immediately raised her hands off the sofa and wrapped them around the back of El’s neck, bringing her closer. Both El and Cait’s tongues then engaged in a clunky forced tango as they succumbed to each other. Cait had been kissed passionately by El many times before, but this was on another level. El’s behaviour was almost primal.

Suddenly, El pulled away and smiled roguishly. “Come on. Grab your jacket. We’re going hunting.”

* * *

With a flourishing final swing, Cait landed her axe directly into the head of a glowing Molerat. As she wrenched the axe out of the fresh carcass, green luminous blood dripping from its blade, Cait wiped the sweat from her brow. Cait had to admit, this idea of getting outside to let off some steam was brilliant. With her breath slowly returning to a normal rhythm, Cait turned to look at El.

The image of El fighting the Molerat infestation was a sight of both extreme hilarity and arousal. Striding through the wreckage of an old scrapyard, El fired a final shot into the Molerat queen. Standing commandingly over the corpse, Cait couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous El looked with her round pregnant belly poking through the middle of her coat.

Cait, however, was also feeling incredibly aroused at how El looked in that commanding stance. The look of a pregnant El sauntering through a rodent infested scrapyard, blowing their heads off, was unbelievably sexy for Cait.

After looking around for a few seconds, El sighed heavily and placed her pistol back into its holster.

Walking over to El, Cait had a devilishly inquisitive smirk on her face. “So, you satisfy your bloodlust?” she asked, placing a hand on her hip and leaning on her axe handle.

El nodded slowly, but enthusiastically, the glint in her hazel eyes burning with an unusual primal fire. “Yes, I think so. It’s good to get rid of some pent-up energy once in a while.” she said breathlessly.

Cait then yelled as El suddenly wrapped her arm around her waist and levered her off the ground. Standing on her tiptoes, Cait struggled to maintain her balance as El mashed her lips on hers. Like their kiss at home in Sanctuary, this kiss was similarly sloppy and animalistic. Like two mating predators, El and Cait hummed and moaned loudly as their tongues danced a primal tango. The taste of both women was simply intoxicating.

As they kissed, still trying to keep her balance, Cait dropped her axe and wrapped her arm around El’s waist. She then began stroking El’s belly with her other. Cait was loving this new side to El. Is this what pregnancy did to women; turn them into horny goddesses, Cait thought to herself. If so, Cait could certainly get used to _this_ part of her new life.

Eventually, both women pulled away and stopped to catch their breath. “God, I love you!” El exclaimed breathlessly, a loving smile on her face.

Cait smirked shyly. “Love you too.” she replied, her cheeks going red. “You know, all that badass stuff you’ve been doin’ has been makin’ me really wet.” Cait’s eyes were now burning with lust.

El raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to one side. “Oh really? You got a thing for horny pregnant women?” El asked impishly.

“Just this one.” Cait replied, leaning in to steal a quick kiss from El’s lips.

El then brought Cait in close and held her tight. “Well, why don’t I take you home and satisfy you?”

Cait’s fiery green eyes burned with intoxicating intensity. “Okay. But you better get a move on. Or I’m gonna have to rub one out myself.”

“Well, after you, Milady.” El said, placing Cait back down on the ground and gesturing to the scrapyard’s exit.

Collecting her axe, Cait began walking down towards the exit and back to Sanctuary. She, however, nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt El slip her arm around her waist and bring her in close. Smiling happily, and wrapping her own arm around El’s waist, Cait, with the woman she adored, meandered back home.

* * *

Whilst the journey back to Sanctuary was long, neither El nor Cait minded. There was still plenty of daylight left and the temperature was pleasant enough to walk slowly. As they meandered back home, El talked endlessly about various things while Cait listened.

El wasn’t sure whether she should stop talking, or not. Whenever they passed a particular point of interest, El would begin talking how it looked before the war; the last time she had seen it; whom she had been with. El just couldn’t stop.

Whilst El rabbited on, Cait quietly listened as they continued walking. Cait was happy to let El talk, she just liked the sound of her voice. Furthermore, Cait was still feeling enthralled by El’s new personality. As a result, she was happy to let El prattle on till they made it home.

Suddenly, as they came through the clearing of some dead trees, Cait stopped and her face dropped as she looked off into the distance.

Realising that Cait had stopped, El turned to her and frowned. “Cait? Are you alright?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

Cait didn’t respond and continued staring ahead.

Clocking where Cait was staring, El turned to look in the same direction, curious of what had caught Cait’s attention. Standing like a castle in the barren landscape, a small dilapidated house lay dormant; its windows broken and its wooden walls falling apart. Surrounding the house were fields of dead and withered crops that blew and rustled aimlessly in the afternoon wind. Slightly apart from the house was a similarly dilapidated shed that stood close to collapsing. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.

After several moments, Cait began slowly walking towards the dilapidated house, her face emotionless as she trudged forward. Stopping roughly ten metres away, Cait tensed as she dropped her axe to the ground.

Suddenly, Cait frantically reached down to the dirt and retrieved a rock. Yelling loudly, and painfully, Cait then threw it as hard as she could at the abandoned house. As the rock hit the house with a loud thud, Cait immediately grabbed a second and similarly threw it as hard as she could.

Throughout all of this, El stood stock still, too confused to understand what was going on. However, with every rock that Cait threw, El began to understand the place they found themselves in. Cait had told stories of where she had grown up. This must have been the place.

Scrambling in the dirt, Cait grabbed a fifth rock and, letting out a deeply injured yell, lobbed it at the house. This time, however, Cait threw the rock with such force that she lost her footing. Tumbling to the ground, Cait landed on her hands and knees and let out a pained sob. Turning her body so she was sitting, Cait lowered her head and quietly cried.

Watching Cait sob into the ground, El slowly started walking down towards her. Reaching Cait, El eased her pregnant body down so she sat next to Cait, facing in the opposite direction. Shuffling closer, El took Cait’s shoulders and pulled her into a loving embrace. El just let Cait quietly cry into her chest. No words needed to be said, just being there was enough.

* * *

The sound of the front door slamming finally brought silence over El’s Sanctuary home. With room to think, El exhaustedly sat herself on the sofa and put her head in her hands. Gently kneading her brow, El massaged away the headache that was threatening to develop.

Ever since their unexpected encounter with Cait’s old family home, Cait had been very irritable and crotchety. This behaviour had built considerable friction between her and El. Every time El tried to ask about Cait’s feelings, Cait would respond with an evasive backlash of attitude.

When it came to arguments, El was excellent at them. A career in law had made it very easy to deflect Cait’s arguments and accusations. However, the ease at which El could argue only enraged Cait even more. Pretty soon, El was trying to defuse something akin to an atomic bomb. Happily, and to the benefit of everyone in the house, Cait had excused herself before El really lost her temper.

Sighing heavily as she sat on the sofa, El heard Codsworth float over to her. _“Is everything alright, mum? You look exhausted.”_ El heard him say.

“Yeah. I’m fine, Codsworth.” El replied, still kneading her brow in exacerbation.

 _“Forgive me for intruding in this personal quarrel, mum, but I would recommend you leave Miss Cait to her own devices. Eventually, she will come around.”_ Codsworth continued.

El looked up and shook her head. “No, I should go out and talk to her. If I don’t go to her, she will only get more annoyed. I’ll give her a few minutes though, to calm down.”

“Very good, mum.” Codsworth finished before floating away. He was, however, quickly replaced by Dogmeat who looked into El’s eyes and rested his head on her lap.

With a friendly smile, El began ruffling his fur and scratching behind his ears. “At least you never argue with me.” El said, looking down at Dogmeat.

Dogmeat did not respond and just continued to look up at her. El sat there for a long while, calming herself though stroking Dogmeat’s fur.

Eventually, El looked up at the clock and determined that enough time had passed to go and find Cait. Easing herself up, El walked around the sofa and opened the front door. Walking through, El stepped out into Sanctuary and closed the door behind her.

The weather outside was still warm in the early evening sun. But, as the sun hung low in the sky, a steady breeze kept it just cool enough to be pleasant. El had a good idea of where Cait was. Whenever, Cait needed a quiet place to think, she always went down to the riverbank and sat on the stone wall.

As El entered the remains of the playground, El found who she was looking for. There Cait was, sitting on the riverbank wall, looking out into the distance with her feet dangling off the edge.

El approached as quietly as she could and gently sat herself down on the wall, facing in the opposite direction to Cait. She noticed Cait momentarily glance in her direction before looking away, her face melancholy.

“Thought I might find you here.” El said as she swung her legs around, so they were facing the same direction. Looking over, El noticed something clutched in Cait’s hands. Leaning in slightly, El spied that it was the photograph she had taken of her and Cait that night in Diamond City. It was quite crumpled, but the image was still very clear and vibrant. “I always loved that picture.” El said, referencing the photograph to start the conversation.

Cait looked down at the photograph and stroked the form of El with her thumb. “I like to keep it with me. Reminds me of what I have.” She said, holding the image tight in her hands.

“That’s a lovely thing to do.” El said smiling. As silence fell again, El could see in her eyes that Cait was trying to think through what she was going to say. Looking down, El quietly watched the movement of the river, waiting for Cait to speak.

“I’m sorry.” Cait eventually said, looking up to face El.

El smiled and wrapped an arm around Cait’s waist and allowed her to rest her head of El’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Cait. Tell me what’s bothering you.” she said soothingly.

Cait stiffened slightly but attempted to speak. “I…I’m just…so… _fuckin’_ …angry, all the time. I thought I was over it, but I’m not.” Cait looked completely lost at sea.

“What are you angry about, Cait?” El asked, stroking Cait’s side.

Still somewhat angry with her herself, Cait scrunched her face up slightly. “It’s just…when we found where I grew up, all I could think about was the _shite_ I took from my parents. Eighteen _fuckin’_ years of bein’ beaten and abused and I did nothin’ about it. I let myself believe that, deep down, they really loved me. When I saw the house again, it just made so fuckin’ angry with myself.”

Listening to every word that Cait said, El gave a reassuring look. “I understand that it’s difficult, Cait. I really do. But you don’t need to worry about them anymore. You’re safe.”

Cait nodded but was still unconvinced. “It just…made me worry about what I could do when you have your baby.” she said, looking back down at the picture clutched in her hands.

“Cait, we’ve been over this. I promise you it will be alright. You will be a wonderful mother.” El said, leaning in close, determination in her voice.

Still unconvinced, Cait looked back up at El, her voice more frantic. “But you don’t know that. Or am I just bein’ stupid?”

“Cait, do not call yourself stupid! You are _not_ stupid!” El snapped, raising her voice to stop Cait from spiralling.

Cait shrank away slightly, not expecting El to raise her voice so much. Witnessing this, El’s face softened and she tried a different approach. “Cait, you’re right. I can’t promise that. But remember what I said that night in Diamond City. When I could still _just_ about see my feet.”

Cait bit her lip, her mind trying to remember what El had said to her that night.

Sensing Cait’s difficulty, El helped her along. “I said to you that I know you for the person _you_ truly are. You are not your parents, Cait. I agree that that isn’t a promise as such. But it’s a belief, a belief in _you_.”

Cait thought for a few moments, trying to believe what El was saying. Eventually, Cait looked up into El’s eyes and saw their trusting hazel glint. “Well…you’ve been right about everythin’ since the day I met you. I’ll believe you if you say so.” Cait said, giving a shy smile.

Smiling, El leaned in and kissed Cait on the forehead. “Thank you, Cait. Now, come on. Let’s go inside and get ready for dinner.”

Right on cue, Cait’s stomach gave a low grumble. “Okay. I am pretty hungry.” she said bashfully.

* * *

After dinner, Cait sat on the sofa waiting for El to appear after her shower. Cait didn’t want to insinuate anything, but she was desperate to watch some movies. Codsworth had managed to bring back some new additions to their collection on one of his regular scavenging missions, and Cait was itching to watch them. Escaping into another might help Cait fight her anger.

Eventually, El came around the side of the sofa. Following her shower, she was wearing a pair of maroon coloured pyjama shorts and a dark blue vest pulled somewhat tightly over her swollen chest and belly. Cait could not help but notice El’s nipples poking ostentatiously through her top.

Watching El walk around the furniture, Cait frowned as she walked straight past the sofa and towards the large rectangular wooden box next to the television. Cait knew that one of the box’s cabinets held the video holotape collection. Maybe El would pick out one of the new films. Cait’s eyes widened in anticipation.

El, however, opened a different cabinet compartment and pulled out a different holotape. She then inserted it into a device in the middle of the wooden box. After a few seconds, the room was filled with the soft melodies of music as the device started itself up.

_“Be sure it’s true when you say I love you_

_It’s a sin to tell a lie_

_Millions of hearts have been broken_

_Just because these words were spoken…”_

Standing up, El turned and walked towards Cait, a friendly smile across her lips. “Dance with me.” El said, holding a hand out to Cait.

Cait’s eyes widened and she reeled away slightly. “What? No.” she said sharply.

“Come on, Cait. Please dance with me.” El asked again, this time with a kind of begging in her voice.

Cait just shook her head. “I don’t dance.”

El lowered her hand and her face changed to one of mischievous innocence. She then clutched her hands under her belly, inadvertently pressing her breasts together. “Cait? Don't you love me?” she asked, feigning innocence.

Cait cursed herself as she looked up at El. El was playing her like a fiddle. Finally relenting, Cait rolled her eyes and reluctantly took El’s hand.

Smiling, El lead Cait to the middle of living area. “So, what do we do?” Cait asked nonchalantly.

El, in response took Cait’s right hand and placed it on her shoulder and clasped her left in _her_ right. She then placed her own left hand on Cait’s waist. “You just position yourself like this, and then just… _dance_.”

Cait groaned at El’s cryptic answer. “But I can’t dance.” she said frustratedly.

El sighed but did not lose her temper. “Dancing is not something you need to know. You just…do it. Just move your body to the beat, with me.”

They started slow, both women easing their movements into a rhythm. Cait found it especially awkward as she had never danced for the sole purpose of personal enjoyment. Eventually, however, Cait began to relax and, with a good deal of prompting for El, started getting into the feel of the music. Cait couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her lips as they rhythmically moved around the room to the beat of the music. What they were doing was stupid in Cait’s opinion, but for some reason, it made Cait feel free. It gave her the same feeling she got when watching a movie, a feeling of escape. Cait loved it.

Over the next hour, El and Cait danced their way through a good chunk of El’s holotape collection. After a slow beginning with _The Ink Spots_ , El and Cait jazzed out to the tunes of _Atom Bomb Baby_. After that, they threw all caution to the wind as they danced out to _Civilization_. Cait especially loved this song and couldn’t stop laughing as her and El swung themselves around the dance-floor.

El loved seeing Cait this happy. After everything, Cait deserved to have some fun. Whilst killing wild animals _was_ fun, El surmised that dancing together would allow Cait to free herself from her thoughts and smile happily again. Judging by how much Cait was laughing, El believed that it must have worked.

Pretty soon, the music had changed back into a slow melody. Whilst _The End of the World_ wasn’t a particularly happy song, its slow pace suited the two perfectly. El and Cait were, by this point, wrapped in each other’s arms, slowly moving in circles around the dance floor. Cait was cuddled up against El, her right hand gently stroking the side of El’s belly and her head rested comfortably on her chest, her eyes closed and smiling happily. El stood in a similar position with her head resting soothingly atop Cait’s. Both women could have stayed there forever.

Ever so slowly, as to not disturb Cait, El gently raised her head to look towards the kitchen. Floating quietly in the kitchen, Codsworth watched them both dance their evening away. in one of his claws was El’s camera. Upon noticing Codsworth, El gave him a small wink and returned to resting her head on Cait’s.

At that gesture, Codsworth placed the camera on the sidetable next to the sofa and withdrew to engage his nightly low power mode.

With Codsworth gone, El and Cait were alone to while away their evening, wrapped in each other’s arms as the music played.

* * *

That night, Cait sat in bed waiting for El to arrive. Cait had had a wonderful evening and had almost forgotten her haunting encounter with her past. She was certain that, before long, another memory would come back to haunt her, but she would face that when it came. For now, however, all Cait wanted to do was cuddle up with El and, maybe, if El was in the mood, have some more fun.

After a while, Cait heard the bathroom light flick off and she saw El walk through the doorway, a glass of water in her hand and her PipPad in the other. “Hey sweetheart.” El said happily, closing the door behind her and placing the objects on her bedside table.

“Hey.” Cait replied softly, sitting slightly forward to expose her cleavage through her vest a little more.

El looked across and noticed the look on Cait’s face. it was an adorably loving and innocent toothless smile that never failed to melt El’s heart. However, the way the left corner of her lips was slightly higher than her right betrayed a coquettish undercurrent to Cait’s perceived innocence. El had seen Cait make that smile when she was expecting something. Cait clearly had an agenda. Knowing exactly what Cait wanted, El gave a similar smile and decided to play with Cait before going anywhere else. “What are you staring at?” she asked suggestively.

Cait’s cheeks immediately went bright red as she tried to tease El back. “Just…you….” Cait said, still trying to feign innocence. El was always better at teasing than she was.

At that response, El raised her eyebrows and decided to turn the teasing up a notch. Standing straight, El put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “You know, Cait, it’s rude to stare at people.” she said, her eyes glinting with mischief.

Cait’s charade immediately crumbled as she stared at El's commanding presence. El looked simply amazing. Her tight nightclothes hugging every one of her curves. Barely supported, El’s swollen breasts, with their erect nipples, looked close to bursting out of her vest as it struggled to keep them sufficiently tethered. Similarly, El’s round pregnant belly stretched the fabric of her vest as far as it could possibly go. Cait also noticed the bottom of El’s vest already beginning to ride up her belly, exposing its smooth underside. Playing right into El’s hands, Cait lowered her head in bashful embarrassment. “I can’t help it if you look _that_ good.”

Cait then stiffened and bit her lip as El climbed onto the bed and began crawling towards her. “You think I look good?” El asked impishly, the end of her nose barely an inch away from Cait’s

“Yeah. Starin’ at you makes me wet.” Cait answered, still trying to tease El back.

El raised her eyebrows again in mock surprise but her smile did not change. “I make you wet, do I?” she asked, pressing her breasts together with her arms.

Cait couldn’t help but look down, such was the hold El had over her. “Just a little.” she answered, completely hypnotised.

El chuckled, marvelling in the control she held over Cait. “Well, I may have to do something about that.” she said, closing the gap and pressing her lips on Cait’s.

The kiss was loving and passionate. Both women exhaled heavily through their nostrils as they rekindled each other’s lips. Cait hummed contentedly and put her hands on the sides of El’s head, holding her close.

Suddenly, El frowned to herself and abruptly pulled away. Looking down, she cursed loudly. “Oh, for fuck sake!” she shouted crawling away from Cait.

“What? What’s up?” Cait asked, her face dropping, immediately thinking she had done something wrong.

“I’m fucking leaking again!” El answered as she got off the bed and stood up.

Cait instantly looked down at El’s chest and saw two circular damp patches around her nipples. Despite trying her best not to, Cait could not stop herself from biting her lip.

Not noticing Cait’s facial expression, El huffed to herself and walked over to her chest of drawers. “The number of fucking tops I’ve been through is getting ridiculous!” El growled. Pulling her top off, El threw it roughly on the floor and opened one of her drawers to find a replacement.

El had just turned around with a new top when she saw Cait standing in front of her. Before she could react, Cait quickly clasped her hands in hers and gently prized the top from El’s grasp. El was immediately confused about what Cait was doing. She had a strange sultry look in her eyes that was hypnotically fixed on the small stream of milk dripping out of El’s nipple. “Cait? What are you doing?” El asked, frowning in confusion.

“Just…follow me.” Cait replied softly.

El reluctantly did as she was told and followed Cait back to bed. As they approached, Cait moved her hands onto El’s shoulders. “Sit down and lie back.” Cait said, trying to push El down onto the bed.

Still confused, El sat on the bed and rested her back against the headboard. Cait then climbed next to her and positioned herself on her knees. “Cait, just tell me what you’re doing.” El asked again, feeling somewhat exacerbated at Cait’s behaviour by this point.

Cait huffed in frustration and rolled her eyes at El’s continued questioning. “Just…shut up and let me help.” Cait said commandingly.

Accepting defeat, El lay back and awaited what Cait was planning to do.

Finally, free of resistance, Cait gently cupped one of El’s swollen breasts in her hands and began massaging it. As Cait’s hand made contact, El immediately hummed, tipped her head back, and closed her eyes. El’s breasts had become even more sensitive since realising she was pregnant. Having Cait massage them sent warm waves of pleasures through her body.

El was then suddenly shocked back to reality as Cait gave El’s breast a gently squeeze. Almost immediately, white droplets of milk oozed out of El’s darkened nipple and ran down her breast. Licking her lips, Cait lowered herself down, clamped her lips arounds El’s erect nipple and began to suckle.

Shocked by what Cait was doing, El’s eyes flashed open and she tried to recoil away. “Cait, no. Stop it. I-.” El’s breath, however, hitched as the feeling of Cait nursing her breast sent a warm pleasurable feeling swirling around her body.

As Cait continued to suckle, El was quickly succumbing to her pleasure. El had felt pleasure at Cait sucking her nipples before. But this pleasure was different. With the plethora of hormones going through her body, and the milk oozing from her breasts, El was feeling a new kind of pleasure. It was almost motherly.

Eventually, El could not hold back any longer and succumbed to her feelings. “Oh, Cait. Come here.” El said breathlessly. In an instant, El collected Cait in her arms and held her close, almost cradling her. Secure in El’s arms, Cait’s lips latched back onto her nipple and she continued to suckle.

Cait had never tasted anything like what El was secreting from her breasts. It was smooth and sweet, like the taste of a candy bar. Cait had drunk milk hundreds of times before. But drinking it directly from the woman she loved and adored made this special, and even more delicious. Furthermore, the deep moans that El was giving off from her suckling was proof enough that El was enjoying what she was doing.

Humming contentedly, El smiled as she looked down at Cait quietly nursing her breast, her eyes closed. El was still struggling to understand why Cait was doing this. Quite frankly, El believed that Cait’s behaviour was ridiculous. However, whether it was her hormones, something about what Cait was doing just felt _right_. This woman in her arms had never known motherly affection. Not once had Cait’s parents hugged her, kissed her, picked her up when she fell, comforted her when she was scared, nursed her when she was hungry. El was the first and only person in her life to do anything of that nature for Cait. In many ways, she believed, El was the loving mother that Cait never had. What more affectionate way to demonstrate that love than to have Cait literally nurse from her breast. Stroking Cait’s hair softly, El couldn’t stop herself from speaking. “My beautiful, brave girl.” El said soothingly.

Realising what she had just said, El immediately stopped herself from talking anymore. What her and Cait were doing was strange enough for El, being too vocal might give away too much. Returning her lips to a modest smile, El simply held Cait in her arms and stroked her hair.

After a while, El believed that Cait must have drained her breast of milk by now. Adjusting herself slightly, El was quietly encouraging Cait to move so they could, hopefully, have fun another way.

El, however, was stopped in her tracks and she moaned loudly as she felt something stroke the area of her shorts between her legs. Looking down, El saw that Cait had somehow manoeuvred her hand between El’s legs and was now stroking the area of her crotch. “Cait? What was that?” El asked breathlessly.

Detaching herself from El’s nipple, Cait licked her lips and smiled lecherously. “Movin’ onto round two.” she replied, climbing out of El’s embrace and straddling El’s lap.

Noticing Cait’s own nipples poking out of her top, El instantly grabbed the hem of Cait’s vest. “Why are you still dressed?” El asked as she pulled Cait’s top up over her head.

Free of their confinement, Cait’s round pale breasts tumbled downwards and bounced slightly as they returned to their original position. Leaning forward, El then cupped them in her hands and kissed them deeply.

Kicking her head back, Cait moaned loudly and raked her hands through El’s smooth brown hair. She, however, soon pulled El’s face away and looked deep into her eyes. “Lie back.”

El obediently did as she was told and adjusted herself so she was lying on her back. Cait then quickly slipped her shorts off and threw them on the floor. With her eyes burning with lust, Cait licked her fingers and began gently stoking her clit. Moaning loudly, Cait’s hand became drenched with arousal as she stimulated herself.

Returning to the servicing of her lover, Cait removed her fingers from her clit and hooked her hands around the hem of El’s shorts. Slipping them off, Cait similarly threw them on the floor and set to work. Straddling one of El’s muscular thighs, Cait licked her fingers again and positioned them at the entrance of El’s slick vagina. Sliding two of them inside, El let out a whimpering moan and her spine arched with pleasure. Cait then cupped El’s undrained breast in her hand and lowered her lips onto it. In a sensuous crescendo to Cait’s actions, she then lowered herself onto El’s muscular thigh and began gyrating her hips back and forth, stimulating herself.

El was both shocked and amazed at what Cait was doing. With every suck of her nipples, and movement of Cait’s fingers inside her, El couldn’t fight the pleasure washing over her. With sweat glistening off her body, El pinched her free nipple between her fingers and raked her other hand through Cait’s hair. Cait was absolutely insatiable, but El couldn’t get enough.

Cait, similarly, moaned and hummed loudly and she straddled El’s body. As she pleasured El’s pussy and nursed her breast, Cait’s was smearing her slick arousal all over El’s thigh. Every gyration of her hips was building the pressure in her core and bringing her closer and closer to climax.

But Cait needed to keep control. Judging by the intensity of El’s moaning, Cait inferred that she was getting close. Cait needed to slow down. If both women were going to cum, they would cum together. Slowing the movement of her fingers inside El’s vagina, El’s moans began to settle into a gentler rhythm.

Despite relieving some of the pressure from her core, El was starting to get close. The intensity of the feelings swirling through El’s body were too powerful for her to resist. Arching her head back, El closed her eyes. “Oh, Cait. I’m so close. I’m s-so close.” she moaned breathlessly.

Responding immediately, Cait sped up the movement of her fingers, the force of her suckling, and the gyrations of her hips. She herself was getting close and she wanted to share her feelings with El. With her body beginning to shake, Cait could feel the pressure boiling over.

The pressure inside El was, by this point, so powerful that she had to grip the side of her belly to keep from shaking too much. El’s moans had already turned into breathlessly exhales of breath as her pleasure simmered to a boil. “Cait, I…I’m…I’m gonna…gonna…” she said in almost a whisper.

Then, at the last possible moment, Cait detached her lips from El’s nipple and forcibly pressed her lips on El’s. As their lips touched, their damns simultaneously broke and a warm tsunami of pleasure engulfed their bodies. Succumbing to her pleasure, El grabbed the sides of Cait’s head, bringing her close as both their bodies violently shook with euphoria. Cait similarly moaned loudly and breathed heavily through her nostrils as she mashed her lips on El’s and let the pleasure overwhelm her. The entire experience was mind-bending, surpassing even El and Cait’s wildest expectations.

After several minutes riding out the intensity of their orgasms, Cait released her lips from El’s and panted heavily as she looked down at her. El, similarly, struggled to control her breathing as she looked up at Cait, completely dumbfounded by the intensity of her climax. What Cait had done to her was unlike anything she had felt before, certainly for a woman nearly six months pregnant. Part of her was still attempting to process what had just happened.

“What…did…you think…of that?” Cait eventually asked through heavy breaths.

Her mind still racing from the intensity of her orgasm, El found that she couldn’t answer. For the first time in their relationship, Cait had left El virtually speechless. “I’ll…have to…let…you know…in the…morning.” El finally answered, still struggling to control her breathing.

Chuckling happily at how happy she had made her lover feel, Cait rolled onto her side and cuddled up to a still dumbfounded El, resting her head atop El’s shoulder and gently kissing her neck. El had done so much for Cait since their first meeting and Cait was happy to have made El feel so good about herself. Wrapping her arm around El’s torso, Cait pulled her close and held her tight.

With her breathing finally returning to a normal rhythm, El raised her hand to grasp the arm wrapped around her torso. Stroking Cait’s pale skin, El savoured the warm heat emanating from Cait’s body cuddled up next to her. However, noticing something damp on her leg, El raised her head slightly and looked down. Stretching down her muscular thigh, a clear damp strip shone in the illumination of El’s bedside lamp. Cait had clearly made sure that she left her mark on El as she pleasured her. “Look at the mess you made.” El said, raising her leg slightly so that Cait could see.

Cait couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of El’s leg stained with her arousal. “I told you that you make me wet.” she chuckled.

“Clearly.” El laughed as she lowered her leg. “It smells of pussy in here.” she then said, taking a deep breath through her nose.

Similarly taking a breath, Cait just laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t mind.”

“No. I don’t suppose it does.” El said, breathing slowly and cherishing the closeness of her lover. They stayed that way for a good while; both women locked in their embrace and appreciating their company. What they had just done was special and both El and Cait wanted to keep that moment alive for as long as possible.

However, the march of sleep was unrelenting and El could feel her eyelids growing heavy. Cait had completely drained all her energy and she was struggling to stay awake. Looking down, El saw Cait let out an enormous yawn. Cait was clearly as exhausted as El was. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. You’ve completely shagged me out, and pregnant women get tired very easily.” El said, softly stroking Cait’s arm.

Stifling another yawn, Cait nodded and adjusted herself slightly. Taking her hand off Cait’s arm, El reached over to turn off the bedside light. Noticing that Cait’s eyes were already shut, El silently pressed a button on her PipPad and flicked the light off. With the room bathed in darkness, El put her hand back on Cait’s arm and let sleep inevitably take her.

* * *

El’s PipPad alarm quietly bleeped as she opened her bleary eyes. Reaching across to her bedside table, El pressed the button and turned the alarm off. With the bedroom once again silent, El wiped the sleep from her eyes and sighed heavily. Looking down, El smiled as Cait lay cuddled up next to her, sleeping soundly, her arm still wrapping lovingly around her torso.

Not wishing to wake Cait up, El carefully moved Cait’s arm off her and slowly eased herself out of bed. At El’s sudden movement, Cait murmured slightly and shifted herself. Happily, Cait was unlikely to wake up, given how much of a heavy sleeper she was.

Safe that Cait was still sound asleep, El quietly collected her Pipad and checked the time: 3:30am. Thank the heavens the alarm hadn’t malfunctioned. Standing herself up, El walked over to her chest pf drawers and collected some underwear. Slipping them on, El then retrieved her vault suit and quietly zipped it up to just above the base of her cleavage. El couldn’t help but frown at the ease at which the vault suit zipped up. Cait’s breastfeeding session had clearly relieved some of the pressure on El’s breasts. Once fully zipped up, El quickly adjusted her body’s various assets to ensure maximum comfort.

Now, suitably attired, El crept over to the window and pulled back the curtain. Through a crack in the curtain, El could see that it was still dark outside. Whilst she was safe in the fact that her alarm had worked, she knew she had to be quick.

Walking over to the door, El quietly slid the door open and, slipping through, closed it behind her. Walking through to the living room, El retrieved her boots from beside the front door and quickly laced them up on the sofa. Standing back up, El then walked back to the front door and buckled her gun belt around her hips. Finally, El collected her coat and rucksack and slung them over her shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, El opened the front door and stepped out into Sanctuary. Closing the door quietly behind her, El looked out at the surrounding landscape. Sanctuary in the early hours was a hauntingly quiet place and the breeze brought a ghostly atmosphere to the settlement.

El, however, couldn’t admire the surroundings; she had a job to do. Stepping off the front step, El strode down the road and off into the night.

* * *

El backed away slowly from the building, pouring a steady stream of clear liquid from a small drum she held in her hands.

Once she had reached a safe distance, El threw the drum away, reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out a lighter. Striking the flame into life, El took a step back and flicked it out of her hand. As the lighter hit the ground, the stream of clear liquid instantly ignited and worked its way back to the buildings located in the distance.

Within minutes, the house was in flames and lit up the surrounding area in a warm ambient orange glow. El watched silently and emotionlessly as the home that had caused Cait nothing but pain was consumed by the flames. Cupping the underside of her belly, El scowled in disgust at the years of abuse the woman she loved had suffered inside, and outside that house’s walls. Whether or not Cait was here, El was more than happy to see it destroyed.

Suddenly, the house’s roof collapsed and sent a heavy plume of smoke and flame up into the air. With the heavy smell of smoke in her nostrils, El decided that it was time to leave. Collecting her rucksack, El turned away from the smouldering house of horrors and made for home.

* * *

Creeping back into the bedroom, El was relieved to find that Cait had not moved. El smiled at how peaceful Cait looked.

As quietly as she could, El slipped her vault suit and underwear off and gently climbed back into bed. Noticing El’s movement, Cait suddenly shifted and murmured to herself again. “W-Where’d you go?” Cait asked dopily as El rested her head back on her pillow.

“Just had to clear something up.” El whispered back.

Cait then cuddled back up to El and hummed to herself. “What was it?” she asked further, her eyes firmly shut.

“Just something personal. Go back to sleep, Cait.” El whispered, her own eyes growing heavy with sleep.

At El’s answer, Cait wrapped her arm around El’s torso and, again, rested her head atop El’s shoulder. Once comfortable, Cait hummed contentedly.

El smiled and gently kissed Cait’s forehead. “I love you.” she said. But Cait was already sound asleep again.

Finally, closing her eyes, El thought about what she had just done. El was already sure that Cait would never want to return to her parent’s house. But, whether she did or not, El had made sure that nothing remained of that shameful monument to Cait’s painful past. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, those are some horny ladies. 
> 
> I know the chapter was mainly fluff and smut, with a bit of angst, but I quite like writing that. It is also important for the development of El and Cait's relationship. I also want to show how much El and Cait love each other. They are just so beautiful together! 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you can. I say this every time; i love reading your comments! 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you next time.


	13. New Realities: Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait prepare for a new arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. Hope you are all keeping safe. 
> 
> First of all, I would like to apologise for the amount of time there's been between my last chapter and this one. Life has just been so busy lately. 
> 
> This is not to say that I had forgotten about this story. It has remained in my mind for the past months. I just haven't found the time to write. 
> 
> Plus, my need for a break ended up going on a lot longer than I had anticipated. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this, I hope, long awaited continuation of El and Cait's story.

In the late afternoon sun, El lounged back on the sofa quietly reading her book. As the sun shone through the open window, El wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed heavily. It was so hot.

Hearing footsteps behind her, El looked around to find Cait standing next to her; running her fingers through her freshly dried hair. “Hey.” El said, smiling happily. “How are you feeling now?”

“A lot better. I was so fuckin’ hot!” Cait huffed.

El cocked her head and pulled a smug smile. “I told you a cold shower would cool you down.”

“Alright, alright. No need to wave your dick about.” Cait huffed as she stubbornly crossed her arms. “How _you_ feelin’? she then asked.

El’s smug smile immediately dropped and she sighed in defeat. “Like a fucking whale. That’s how I feel.”

Not knowing how best to respond, Cait remained silent.

Noticing Cait’s silence, El stood up, cocked her head, and put her hands on her hips. “Yes, I completely understand El. It must be so difficult for you at the moment. Who would have thought being pregnant would put so much strain on your body.” El said sarcastically, clearly irritated by Cait’s silence.

Cait took a step back and frowned, visibly taken aback by El’s sarcasm.

Upon seeing Cait’s reaction, El’s face softened and she moved to put her hands on Cait’s waist. “Sorry Cait. That wasn’t fair. Carrying another person and these two bloated milk sacks just really pisses you off after a while.” she said, nodding down towards her swollen boobs and bump.

Having never experienced any of what El was talking about before, Cait was somewhat at a loss about how to respond. Despite loving El more than anything, Cait still found it difficult to empathise with other people. “W-Well, you’re really pretty.” Cait stuttered in a feeble attempt at empathy.

Knowing Cait far better than anyone else did, El could see that she was trying to be supportive. Smiling, El leaned forward and kissed Cait deeply on the lips. “Thanks, Cait.” El chuckled.

Happy that El was not pissed off with her, Cait continued in her attempts at helping. “Why don’t you have a shower, like I did? You did say a cold shower was a good idea.”

El sighed, “Maybe later. I’ll have one when it gets a bit cooler. At least that way I won’t warm back up too quickly before going to bed. I _will_ go and change my vest though.”

El had just began waddling off towards the corridor when Codsworth came floating over to them. “Hi Codsworth. Can I help you with something?” El asked, looking in his direction.

“Good afternoon, Mum. Before you go to change your attire, I wanted to enquire as to what kind of cake you would like for later this evening?” Codsworth asked.

El frowned in confusion. Why was Codsworth suddenly asking her about cake? “Sorry, Codsworth, I’m not sure I follow.” El said, curious whether, after two-hundred years, Codsworth was beginning to malfunction.

“I was planning on baking a cake for you and Miss Cait as a special dessert this evening. I was going to bake your favourite, Victoria Sponge, if that suits” Codsowrth replied, attempting to clarify.

Despite still being confused by Codsworth’s request, El did welcome the prospect of cake. “That sounds lovely, Codsworth. But, may I ask what the occasion is? Yes, Victoria Sponge _is_ my favourite. But you only ever made cakes for special occasions.”

Codsworth’s central eye stalk rose up slightly in surprise. “Why, Mum, it is to celebrate your birthday.”

El’s eyes widened and she took a step back. What was Codsworth on about? “My…My…What?”

“Your Birthday, Mum.” Codsworth replied, clearly oblivious to El’s confusion.

El squinted her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Codsworth, it’s…it’s not my birthday.”

“But, Mum, it is August 4th today. If my memory serves me correctly, that day is marked out as your birthday.” Codsworth replied.

Frowning heavily, El waddled over to the sidetable next to the sofa and retrieved her PipPad. Flicking through the various screens, El’s mouth dropped open slightly. “Oh… S-So it is. I…I’d completely forgotten.

“Is that a yes then, Mum?” Codsworth continued, bringing El back to reality.

El looked at her PipPad screen again, attempting to think this through. How could she have forgotten her own birthday? How old would this make her now, two-hundred-and-something? And, now, everyone she would have celebrated her birthday with was gone. What kind of birthday was that?

But then she thought of Cait. Cait and her unborn child was all she needed; and, anyway, the place could do with a bit of celebration. Looking up, El nodded and smiled. “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Codsworth. I would love a cake.” She, however, was quick to point a finger in his direction as her face turned serious. “But no candles. I’m not having a party.”

“Certainly, Mum. I shall make preparations.” Codsworth said as she floated away to the kitchen.

Placing her PipPad back on the side table, El looked up at Cait. “Well, I think we’re in for a treat tonight. Two-hundred years without cake is too long.” she said, smiling.

Cait raised the corners of her lips in response but remained silent.

Eventually, El sighed and began looking around aimlessly. “Right, now, what was I doing?” she asked herself, clicking her fingers. “Ah, that’s it, changing into some clothes less soaked with sweat.”

As El quietly waddled off down the corridor, Cait bit her lip and began fidgeting with her fingers. What the hell were El and the tin can talking about? Maybe she should ask El about it later.

* * *

“How are you finding the cake, Cait?” El asked as she twisted around to put her plate on the sidetable.

Cait hummed contentedly and gave an adorable toothless smile. “It’s fuckin’ amazin’!” she said through a large moutful of cake.

“Manners, Cait.” El said, raising an eyebrow and pulling a sly smile at Cait’s muffled speech.

Cait swallowed her mouthful and rolled her eyes at El’s reprimand. “Can I have another bit?” she then asked, trying to look at El and not the cake sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Be my guest, Cait. Have as much as you like” El answered as she gestured her head behind her.

Cait smiled devilishly and hopped off the sofa. Shuffling over to the kitchen, Cait cut herself another slice and then returned to sit next to El.

“Crikey, Cait! I thought you said you were getting another slice.” El chuckled as she looked at the hunk of cake sitting on Cait’s plate.

“It tastes so good though.” Cait replied as she positioned herself cross-legged next to El.

El could do nothing but smile and nod in agreement. “It certainly does. I must say, Mutfruit jam is a surprisingly good substitute.”

Pretty soon, a good half of El’s cake was gone; Cait having polished off a good third of it. With one last mouthful of cake, Cait uncrossed her legs and stretched out on the sofa; sighing deeply.

“Had enough?” El asked, taking Cait’s plate from her and placing it on top of hers.

Cait hummed and nodded. “I’m so full.” she said, leaning her head on El’s shoulder.

“Well, I’m hardly surprised, you did eat a good third of an entire cake.” El replied, resting her head atop Cait’s and placing a hand over her swollen belly.

They sat there for a good long while in total silence; both women just quietly letting their food digest. Eventually, however, Cait felt that she had to ask what all this was about. “Why did Codsy want to make you a cake?” she asked.

El inhaled deeply through her nose and lifted her head. “Because it’s my birthday today.” she answered, somewhat confused by Cait’s question.

“But why do you celebrate a birthday?” Cait asked further.

El thought for a few seconds before answering. Explaining birthdays was not as easy as she thought. “It’s just something you do. You celebrate completing another year of life. Sometimes you may have a special birthday if you reach a certain age. If you wanted, you may also have family and friends over for a party and have loads of fun. Sometimes they would bring you presents and gifts.”

Cait listened quietly to El’s every word, imagining such a celebration where she was the centre of attention.

“Did you ever have a birthday celebration?” El probed, noticing that Cait appeared to have drifted off.

Cait shrank away slightly and shook her head. “I…I…I…don’t know when my birthday is.” she stuttered, wiping away a tear that was building in her eye.

Seeing this, El brought Cait close and kissed the top of her head. She had never even thought about Cait not knowing her birthday, let alone never having a birthday celebration. “I’m sorry, Cait. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Cait sniffed and wiped her eyes again. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

El bit her lip, chastising herself for not knowing this about her lover. Of course, it made sense. With what she knew about Cait’s upbringing, there was no way that the scum that were Cait’s parents would celebrate her birthday. Something, however, didn’t add up. “But, Cait, forgive me for asking, weren’t you sold to your slavers on your eighteenth birthday?”

“I was only eighteen ‘cause _they_ said so. How old I really was didn’t mean a shit to them.” Cait answered glumly, with a hint of anger in her voice.

Remembering all too well the nightmare of Cait’s first day as a slave, El desperately wanted to right this wrong. El could not allow Cait to spend the rest of her life thinking that the day she was sold into slavery was her birthday. Looking around, El attempted to think of something. Losing hope, El’s eyes finally fell on her PipPad. Collecting it, El once again, checked the day’s date.

Suddenly, it came to her. Flicking through her PipPad, El smiled in congratulations of her victory. “I have an idea, Cait. We met on January 10th of this year. That will be your birthday.”

Cait looked up at El and frowned. “What? I don’t need a birthday.” she said glumly.

Knowing how stubborn Cait was, El set about convincing her. “Yes, you do, Cait. with all that you have survived, you deserve the biggest birthday imaginable.” she said, cupping Cait’s cheek in her hand.

Seeing the love in El’s hazel eyes, Cait smiled. “You really think so?”

“Would I have said it if I didn’t mean it?” El asked rhetorically.

“T-Thank you.” Cait chuckled as she leaned into kiss El. The kiss the small but deeply loving and passionate. As Cait pulled away, however, she let out a sigh and a deep grown. She didn’t feel good.

Raising an eyebrow, El knew exactly what this meant. “I think someone’s had too much cake.”

* * *

Cait sat at the kitchen table, quietly assembling the contents of her bag. She had already checked it twice before, but the activity allowed her to keep her mind occupied. For this trip, she needed to make sure she had _everything_.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Cait looked up to find El standing at the entrance to the corridor; her special vault suit zipped up tightly around her pregnant body. Cait licked her lips; El was enormous, but still looked amazing.

“Morning again, Cait.” El said with a smile. "Checking your bag again?”

Cait smiled back. “Mornin’. Just wanna make sure I have everythin’.” she replied.

“I’m sure you have everything. I know you keep checking because you’re nervous. It’s going to be fine, Cait.” El reassured as she approached the kitchen table.

Cait scrunched her face up in frustration at El’s perceptiveness. “I’m not nervous.” Cait said stubbornly, looking down. “I…I’m…just… Why do you have to be so fuckin’ smart all the time?”

“Because I know you, Cait.” El smirked.

Cait huffed in defeat and accepted that El was right. Noticing Cait’s face drop, El walked over and took a seat facing her. “What are you nervous about?” El asked, taking Cait’s hand.

Cait glanced over to El and sighed. “It’s…just…that…you said you had six months till you were due. It just seems to have gone really fast.”

El smiled and nodded. “I understand, Cait. It’s perfectly human to be nervous. But you’ve done great these past six months. I can safely say that, when the day arrives, I will be in more than capable hands.” Whilst El was confident in Cait’s abilities to get her to right place on the due date, her words did have the tint of lie in them. El was all too aware that Cait tended to bury her head in the sand when responsibilities crept up on her. When those responsibilities became unavoidable Cait would spiral into panic, resulting in either a tantrum or a mild breakdown of confidence; or both. Despite talking through what was likely to happen on her due date, El determined that she would just have to wait for the day itself before rushing to any conclusions.

Happily, for El, Cait still found her impossible to read and Cait simply nodded back, shivering slightly as she did. “Okay, I believe you.” she said quietly.

Inwardly relieved that her doubts had not been discovered, El got up from her chair and retrieved her coat. Slipping it over her shoulders, El sighed at how ostentatious it made her belly look. Looking up, El was simply greeted by Cait trying her best to contain her laughter. El just huffed and shook her head.

Waddling over to Cait, El pulled her to her feet and cocked her head to one side. “It’s rude to laugh in people’s faces, Cait.” El said, playfully trying to sound serious.

Playing right into El’s hands, Cait’s smirk dropped and she started fidgeting. “But you laugh at me all the time.”

Smiling mischievously, El put her hands on her hips. “I’m pregnant. I can do what I want.”

It was only when Cait looked up at El again that she saw the mischievous glint in her hazel eyes. “That’s not funny.” Cait huffed, crossing her arms.

El walked closer to Cait but her smile only intensified. “It is a little funny.” she chuckled. “You can call me fat if you want.”

At this invitation, Cait smiled and prepared a rebuttal. “Alright. Seein’ as you said so, fatty.”

Now El’s mouth dropped open. “What did you just call me?” she asked, mouth completely agape with shock.

“B-But you said that-.” Cait shuttered, suddenly panicking again. She moved to apologise but again saw the glint in El’s eyes. Realising immediately that El had played her again, Cait smacked El on the shoulder and pouted her lips. “Stop fuckin’ windin’ me up!”

Finally letting her ploy drop, El held her hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop it.” she said as she put her hands around Cait’s waist. “You’re just very easy to tease.”

“No, I’m not!” Cait retorted stubbornly.

Looking up at El, Cait immediately realised that she had been played again. “Oh, stop fuckin’ teasin’!” Cait blustered.

Snorting loudly, El quickly leaned in and stole a kiss from Cait’s pouting lips.

Trying desperately to contain her smile, Cait bit her lip. “You know what you are?”

“What am I?” El asked back, raising her eyebrows in expectation.

Cait had to think for a couple of seconds to make sure she remembered the word correctly. “Incorrigible.” she said slowly to make sure she pronounced it right.

El could do nothing but laugh. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Cait replied, blushing slightly as she spoke.

El and Cait both kissed, savouring the feel of each other’s lips. It was slow, but extremely loving. Cait, in response, rested her hands on El’s chest and lifted herself onto her tiptoes to be closer to El’s height.

Eventually, El pulled away and peppered a tiny probing kiss on the end of Cait’s nose. “Come on. Grab your jacket. We have a long journey ahead and, unfortunately, I don’t move as fast as I did.” El said, running her hands down Cait’s slender waist.

Cait nodded and turned to retrieve her jacket from the back of her chair. Slipping it over her shoulders, Cait collected her bag and slung it onto her back.

Smiling affectionately, El gently slipped her hands around Cait’s neck and untucked her hair from her jacket collar. With her hair free, El then tucked a few loose strands of fringe behind her ear.

“Do you always have to do that?” Cait asked, patting her hair down.

“I want you to be presentable for the Commonwealth.” El replied.

Cait frowned. “Do you really think anyone cares?”

“I do.” El finished, handing her own bag to Cait. “Hey, can you help me with my bag?”

Nodding, Cait took El’s bag and helped slip it onto her shoulders. Now fully prepared, El turned around and raised her eyebrows. “You ready to go?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Cait replied, nodding to hide her nervousness.

“Come on then.” Let’s go.” El smiled as she took Cait’s hand to lead her to the door.

They had just reached the sofa when El suddenly stopped and unclasped her hand from Cait’s. “El? You okay?” Cait asked.

Without responding, El quickly waddled off down the corridor to the laundry room; leaving Cait frowning and confused.

After a few seconds, El returned clutching a small box wrapped in an old leather case. Cait immediately recognised it as the camera. How could El have forgotten that? “Would you mind?” El asked, handing the camera to Cait and turning around.

Recognising what El was implying, Cait unclasped El’s bag and carefully placed the camera inside. With her bag closed, El turned back around and took Cait’s hand again. “Right. Now, let’s go.”

 _“One last thing before you go, Mum.”_ a well-spoken metallic voice called from the kitchen.

El turned around to find Codsworth floating over to them. “Before you go, Mum, I must wish you both a Bon Voyage. I bid you the best of health and I shall make arrangements to have the spare bedroom suitably outfitted for your return.”

“Thank you so much, Codsworth. Next time you see us, they’ll be three of us. I’ll see you when we’re back.” El chuckled. Opening the front door, El turned to face Cait. “We best get going.”

Nervously smiling back, Cait collected her shotgun from beside the front door and followed El out.

Closing the door behind them, El and Cait begun slowly striding down the road towards the bridge; their hands clasped tightly together.

* * *

Just as it had been on their last visit, the descent into Diamond City was a welcome relief for both and El and Cait. El especially welcomed the prospect of relaxing after such a journey. As they came to the end of the causeway, Cait was conscious that El was tightly holding onto the railing as she descended. “You alright, El?” Cait asked, stopping to let El catch up.

El nodded and waved off Cait’s concern. “I’m fine. Just exhausted. I could really do with a nap when we get inside.”

“I could do with a drink.” Cait replied as they both stepped off the causeway.

El chuckled, amused by Cait’s characteristic honesty. “You do whatever you want. Just as long as I can-.”

 _“BLUE!”_ a voice loudly shouted in front of them.

Immediately, El and Cait looked towards the sound to find Piper almost running towards them, her arms outstretched. “Blue! It’s been months!” Piper exclaimed as she wrapped El in a tight hug.

Returning the hug, El tentatively wrapped her arms around Piper’s back. “Hey Piper. Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Pulling away, Piper looked El up and down. “It damn well has! Wow, Blue, you look… _incredible_.”

Laughing loudly at Piper’s compliment, El ran a hand over her large belly. “Ha! You mean fat?” she said sarcastically.

“No, really, you look great, Blue!” Piper reassured, gesturing her hands down the length of El’s body.

Heartened by Piper’s compliments, El laughed again. “Thanks Piper. It’s nice to hear that.”

“So, how have you been these past six months? You look ready to pop.” Piper continued, crossing her arms.

El just sighed in response. “Oh, you don’t know the half. Things have been alright, I suppose. Just very boring. The crew building my teleporter wouldn’t let me help whilst I’m pregnant. That didn’t leave me with much to do.”

Piper nodded in agreement. “To be honest, I agree. That’s an important package you’re carrying there.” she said commandingly, nodding towards El’s belly.

Slightly frustrated that Piper didn’t share her feelings, El shrugged her shoulders. “I could have helped with some of it.” she complained, trying her best not to sound like she was whinging.

“No, you couldn’t. You’d only hurt yourself.” Cait blurted out, not wishing to feel left out.

“Cait! Where are my manners?” Piper said, turning to Cait and putting a hand on her shoulder. “How have you been?”

“Fine, fine.” Cait replied, still a little unsure about talking to Piper. “Just makin’ sure this one does as she’s told.” she said, gesturing her head towards El and smirking mischievously.

El’s mouth dropped open at Cait’s comment. “Hey! I am still here, you know.”

Laughing loudly, Piper patted Cait on the shoulder again. “Ha! I like you, Cait. At least someone is telling her what to do.” she said, winking at El. “Look, before you two lovebirds either start fighting, or making out, why don’t you come inside for a drink?”

Despite wanting to take Piper up on her offer, El was too exhausted to stay awake any longer. “I would love to, Piper. But, I’m really tired after our journey. Carrying all this around takes all your energy away.” El said breathlessly, gesturing her hands to her enlarged assets.

Completely understanding, Piper closed her eyes and nodded. “No, you're right. After a journey like that, you need all the rest you can get.”

“Maybe tomorrow though?’ El then enquired.

“Sure, why not.” Piper smiled in response. “Come by and I’ll dust off the Nuka Colas.”

“Brilliant. We’ll see you tomorrow then, Piper.” El said as she and Cait began walking down towards the market.

Piper simply gestured her hand to her forehead in a mock salute. “See you around, Blue.”

* * *

It had been an incredibly relaxing evening. After a long nap, El and Cait had enjoyed a meal together. However, El ended up doing most of the work. Despite trying her best to help, Cait wasn’t the best cook. After dinner, El had read a section of her book whilst Cait sat and listened. Cait herself wasn’t really paying much attention to the story; she just listened to El’s voice. Before long, Cait’s eyes were growing heavy and El gotten bored of reading. With their teeth brushed, El and Cait retired to bed.

“How long do you think you have?” Cait asked, listening to El’s steady heartbeat as she rested her head on El’s chest.

El took a deep breath, unsure herself how long she had. “A few days, I think.” she answered, gently stroking her belly.

“You ready?” Cait asked further.

El exhaled deeply. Cait’s questions weren’t exactly the easiest to answer. “I think so. You can only prepare so much for this sort of thing. Are you ready though?"

Cait bit her lip, unsure about her answer. She hadn’t expected El to turn the question on her. El had talked through lots of different aspects of motherhood over the past six months. It wasn’t easy and it took every ounce of El’s patience at times. Cait was not the easiest student. “As I’ll ever be.” Cait eventually replied.

Sensing Cait’s characteristic doubt, El sought to reassure her again. “You’ll be fine.” she said, stroking Cait’s shoulder with her other hand.

Cait nodded but did not say anything.

After a few moments of silence, a thought suddenly crossed El’s mind. She wasn’t sure how Cait would take it, but it couldn’t hurt to try. “Would you ever think about it?” El asked tentatively.

“About what?” Cait looked up, confused about what El was meaning.

“Having kids, yourself?” El clarified.

Understanding exactly what El was implying, Cait tensed up and she took a sharp breath; shaking her head vigorously.

El brought Cait closer. “It’s alright, Cait. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” she comforted, lightly kissing the top of Cait’s head.

Wiping her eye, Cait composed herself. “After everythin’ that happened to me, I couldn’t do it.”

“I understand, Cait.” El said, stroking Cait’s back.

“Maybe in another life.” Cait added.

El nodded, heartened by Cait’s honesty and bravery about such things. “Well, it doesn’t matter, Cait. You’ll be an incredible mother nonetheless.”

Cait smiled at El’s reassurance. Cait could always believe El’s kind words. “I love you.” she eventually said.

“I love you too.” El replied, moving her hand to gently stroke Cait’s hair.

They lay there in complete silence, both women just whiling away their time together. Neither El nor Cait cared about speaking; they just happily waited for sleep to take them.

* * *

“How was that?” Cait asked, leaning forward expectantly as El placed her plate on the coffee table.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. It’s certainly a start.” El replied as she sat back in her chair.

Cait took El’s comment as praise and smiled triumphantly. “Told you I could do it.” she said proudly.

El gestured her head from right to left in thought. Cait did have a point, but she could get cocky very easily. “That’s true. But we have a long journey between eggs and a gourmet meal. However, we all have to start somewhere.”

Happy to accept El’s words as generally praising, Cait stood up to collect ther plates.

“No, no! Sit down.” El called out as she herself stood up and took the dishes. “You cooked. So, I’ll collect the plates.”

“But-!” Cait tried to say.

El just put her hand up, stopping Cait immediately. “I have spoken.”

Cait obediently sat back as El waddled off to the kitchen and waited for her to return. Absentmindedly, she played with the hem of her shirt.

Suddenly, the crashing sound of ceramic breaking on the floor brought Cait back to reality. Looking around, Cait was shocked to see El standing slightly hunched over, leaning against the wall for support. Cait immediately stood up and rushed to El’s side. “El? You alright?”

El let out a heavy breath and looked over at Cait, a look of shock and mild disbelief plastered over her face. “Cait…I…I think my water just broke.”

Cait’s face instantly dropped open and she felt her legs become shaky. “Shite!” was all she could say.

* * *

“I can’t do it. The baby can stay there. I don’t care anymore.” El said breathlessly as she lay in the bed beneath Dr Sun’s Medical Centre.

“B-But we’ve been here for hours. You can’t stop now!” Cait stuttered in reply as she stood over El.

El just shook her head and did her best not to break down in tears. “Yes, I can. I don’t care anymore.”

As soon as El’s labour started, Cait’s mind immediately tried to remember what El had taught her. Collecting El’s bag, Cait had slowly led El out of the house and along the street to Dr Sun’s Medical Centre. Normally, Dr Sun would have demanded payment up front. However, after Cait had forcibly grabbed him by the collar and threatened to punch his lights out if he didn’t do the birth now, he was flexible enough to take payment after.

So, here El was, lying on the same bed she had laid on six months ago; in the deep pains of labour. By now, they had been there for hours and El was completely exhausted, leaving only Cait as her sole support; and on the edge of breaking down herself.

“Since when have you given up on anythin’?” Cait demanded, beginning to get frustrated with El’s attitude.

“Now. Today is the day I finally give up. I don’t care.” El answered stubbornly.

Cait was about to shout but was abruptly interrupted by Dr Sun. “Okay, sorry to rain on your white flag parade, but get ready for a contraction.”

El breath quickened as she prepared. When it came, El screamed loudly. “Fucking hell, Cait! JUST FUCKING SAY SOMETHING!”

“What do you want me to say?!” Cait shouted back.

“ANYTHING! JUST FUCKING TALK TO ME! TELL ME STUFF!” El screamed as she finally broke down in tears.

Cait didn’t know what to do. For the first time since they met, El was completely helpless. Whenever Cait was in trouble, El was there to pick her up. Now that the tables were turned, Cait was completely at a loss of what to do. She needed to think of something, and fast. “Y-You’re doin’ well.” She stuttered hopelessly.

“You think?” El sniffed between bouts of tears.

Interpreting El’s response as a positive, Cait continued. “Yeah. You’re…You’re gonna do this. You’re…You’re gonna have this baby and you’ll be a fuckin’ great mother.”

“Really?” El asked again, believing Cait’s encouragement.

Cait was now getting into the role of supporting partner and felt she could go further. “Yeah, you’ll be great. You’ll teach it so many things and it…it will be as smart as you are.”

El chuckled at Cait’s words. “And we’ll find Shaun, won’t we?”

Cait stopped, not expecting El to say that. The topic of Shaun was still a difficult subject for Cait and El struggled to convince Cait otherwise. However, El still needed Cait’s encouragement if she was to get through this. So, Cait was going to have to compromise. “Yeah. We’ll find him. Then we’ll burn the Institute to the fuckin’ ground and bring him home. Then it will be us four, takin' on the Commonwealth, as…a…a…family.”

“And…And we’ll be happy, won’t we?” El panted.

Cait nodded. “Yeah. Happy.”

El took Cait’s hand and looked up at her. “That…That sounds lovely. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Cait said as she leaned into kiss the side of El’s sweaty head. “You’re a fuckin’ superhero.” she then whispered into her ear.

El laughed properly at that remark and she gripped Cait’s hand tighter, feeling another contraction coming.

“Alright, on the next contraction, I want you to push.” Dr Sun said, bringing both El and Cait back to the matter at hand.

Emboldened by Cait’s encouragement, El took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Now… _push_.” Dr Sun commanded.

Dr Sun’s Medical Centre immediately became filled with El’s screams as she pushed. Cait stood by her side the entire time, supporting her in any way she could. “And…relax. You’re doing very well, ma’am.” Dr Sun reassured.

El breathed heavily, completely sapped of energy. “This baby better be gorgeous, Cait.” she grunted.

Cait frowned at El’s demand. “I didn’t knock you up.” she retorted.

“Don’t you fucking sass me, Cait!” El spat back. “That’s my job!”

Cait moved to argue but was again interrupted by Dr Sun. “We’re nearly there. I want you to give me another big push…Now… _push!_ ”

El pushed and pushed, screaming and yelling through gritted teeth. El had no energy left, but something she couldn’t place was telling her to go on. Cait, on the other hand, was becoming concerned that El was going to crush her hand.

“You’re very close now. Just give me one more push.” Dr Sun commanded.

Digging deep, El pushed with all her waning strength, yelling loudly as she did so. Cait looked at El with an increasing sense of worry. With her strength failing with every push, El appeared to be on the brink of passing out.

And then Cait heard it; the baby’s first cry.

“There we go.” Dr Sun called out. “It’s a girl. Ten fingers and toes, and, judging by the shrieking, a full set of lungs.”

As Dr Sun stood up, cradling the baby in a towel, Cait saw the child for the first time. It was small, pink, screaming its head off, and covered with goo. Cait’s mouth dropped open.

Panting heavily, El smiled and wept with joy as she heard her baby’s cries. “Can…Can I hold her?” she asked, lifting her head and extending her arms.

“Here you go, ma’am. Congratulations to you.” Dr Sun said as he handed the baby to El.

Taking her baby in her arms, El beamed with happiness as she befell her new child. Wiping the goo and fluid from the baby’s head, she examined her. She had her nose, but Nate’s jet-black hair. Leaning forward, El kissed her forehead. “Hey, little one. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Now cradled in her mother’s arms the baby began to settle until her shrieks finally quietened. With her eyes still closed, she let out a deep yawn.

Looking up at Cait, El saw a look of intense shock on her face. Cait looked both amazed and terrified with her eyes wide and her mouth open. “Would you like to hold her, Cait?” El eventually asked.

Cait immediately stiffened, unsure of how to react. Did she want to hold her?

Sensing Cait’s unease, El attempted to reassure her. “It’s alright, Cait. Just take her like this and… They we go.” she said as she handed the baby to Cait. “Watch her head.”

With shaking hands, Cait took the baby; her heart beating at one hundred beats a minute. Looking down, Cait befell the life form in her arms; its pink skin, tiny fingers and toes, its little nose, its thick black hair. It was… _beautiful_.

Cait suddenly felt herself smiling. She didn’t know why, she just wanted to. This thing in her arms was just so beautiful. Only something conceived before the bombs could be so beautiful. This was her… _daughter_.

Seeing Cait’s smile, El reached over and put her hand on Cait’s arm. Looking up, Cait saw El’’s smile and blushed brightly. “Well,” El asked, “what do you think?”

Cait was at a loss for words. How could she describe this thing of beauty in her arms? “She’s…She’s…She’s beautiful.”

Upon hearing Cait’s words, El let out a joyful sob. Just about controlling herself, El tentatively leaned over and stroked the baby’s head. “Meet your new mother, little one.”

After for few moments, the baby began to shift and fuss. Cait’s smile immediately dropped and she panicked, unable of what to do. El instantly reached over to calm her. “Shh…Shh…Don’t worry, Cait. I’ll take her.”

Handing the baby back to El, Cait felt she herself let down by her own ineptitude. “What…What did I do wrong?” Cait asked despondently.

“You did nothing wrong, Cait. Babies fuss, that’s all.” El replied, her hand once again gripping Cait’s arm.

Cait nodded, understanding that she was probably overthinking things. “What shall we call her?” she then asked, hoping to change the subject.

El thought for several moments, looking over her child for a name that suited her. El _had_ thought about names in the past months but had never given the subject any serious consideration. Perhaps she could name her after her mother? But, thinking about it, El’s mother would probably never forgive her for that.

Then El thought of Nate; the husband and father who would never know his daughter. If anyone deserved a legacy, it was him. “…Natasha.” El eventually said.

Hearing the name, Cait leaned in to get a closer look. _“Natasha?”_ Cait thought. The name suited her.

“Meet your new parents, Natasha.” El said, holding Natasha close to Cait.

* * *

“She will still be there tomorrow, Cait.” El said as she walked back into the living area.

Looking up to El approaching, Cait blushed slightly. “She’s just so pretty.” she replied, looking back down at Natasha sleeping soundly next to her.

Owing to El’s unexpected labour, the preparations that that El and Cait were intending to make for the baby’s arrival whilst in Diamond City were cut short. With no other option, El had emptied one of her drawers and placed it on the sofa to act as a makeshift cot. After fitting it with enough blankets, Cait had painstakingly laid Natasha inside and had not left her side since.

Smiling, El sat down behind Cait and leaned over her shoulder. “I’m glad you like her.” she said, wrapping her arm around Cait’s waist.

They sat there for a few moments, both silently watching Natasha sleep peacefully in her improvised cot. Eventually, however, El kissed the back of Cait's neck and whispered softly in her ear. “Thank you.”

Turning her head to look behind at El, Cait frowned. “Why?”

“For all your help. For being there for me when I needed you.” El answered.

Cait’s cheeks went red and she chuckled to herself. “Well, you’re welcome.”

Bringing Cait close, El smiled. “I’m sorry I shouted at you.”

Leaning into El’s embrace, Cait laughed quietly. “It’s okay. I’d be pissed if I had to push a baby out of me.”

Kissing Cait on the back of her neck again, El shifted got up from the sofa. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. I want to cuddle you without a bump getting in the way.”

Cait nodded. “Okay. I’ll…I’ll be up in a minute.”

Kneeling down, El gently stroked Natasha’s head and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” El whispered. “I love you and I’ll see you in the morning.” Standing up again, El looked back towards Cait. “I’ll see you upstairs.”

With El withdrawing upstairs to get into bed, Cait was left alone with Natasha again. Now alone, Cait got to her knees and leaned in close to Natasha. “Hey, little one.” Cait began softly. “It’s Cait. Your new…new mom. I just wanted to tell you that…that…”

Cait stalled, unable to complete her sentence. This life in front of her unlike anything she had seen before. It was innocent, clean, and beautiful. It was a fresh start. Cait had spent her life longing for a fresh start. Now, maybe this child would be that chance?

Finding her words, Cait gently clasped Natasha’s tiny hand between her thumb and forefinger and whispered quietly, but commandingly. “I make you a promise, okay. I’m gonna do my best to take care of you. I will make sure no one and nothin' hurts you. I promise you that.”

To Cait’s surprise, Natasha cooed quietly in her sleep and tightly gripped Cait’s finger. Interpreting Natasha’s action as proof that she had heard her, Cait smiled brightly.

Getting back to her feet, Cait similarly bent down and gently kissed Natasha on the forehead. “Love you. I’ll see you in the mornin’” she whispered as she departed. Making her way towards the steps, Cait turned to have one more look at Natasha’s crib. Smiling once more, Cait engrained her new pact into her mind. Cait’s childhood been nothing but misery, pain, and heartache. If it was the last thing she ever did, Cait swore to herself that she would make Natasha’s the happiest it could possibly be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> Looking to the future, I will try to ensure that new chapters come out as regularly as possible. 
> 
> Please leave kudos and a comment if you can and I'll see you all next time.


	14. Unwanted Departures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day that Cait has been dreading finally arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. Hope you are all keeping safe. 
> 
> Please enjoy this latest chapter.

Despite wanting nothing more than to make time stand still, it was unrelenting and Cait was forced to open her eyes. Fluttering her eyes open, Cait looked towards a gap in the drawn curtains where the rays of the newly rising sun were shining through. This was the day that Cait knew was coming, but also dreaded. Today was the day that El teleported into the Institute.

Cait couldn’t forget the day when everything she had built with El was thrown into doubt. She and El had just put Natasha to bed and were choosing a movie to watch when the dreaded knock at the door came. El had opened the door and found an incredibly elated Sturges standing on the doorstep. It was then that he gave El the news that the teleporter had been completed.

In order to give Cait time to adjust, El had delayed her departure by a few days. Those days El spent mainly preparing for whatever she may encounter once inside the Institute. Cait did her best to remain calm and supporting, but it was almost impossible.

Then the night before arrived. El had made sure that the night was dedicated entirely to Cait. That included cooking her favourite meal, a cake for dessert, as many movies as she wanted, and, once they had retired to bed, as much attention as El could give her.

Now, however, Cait could do nothing but accept that her time was up. Carefully turning her head to look behind her, Cait befell El sleeping soundly next to her; an arm wrapped lovingly around her naked slender waist. Turning back around, Cait smiled to herself. Maybe, if El stayed asleep, she could keep this going as long as possible.

Suddenly, El groaned and shifted as she wiped the sleep from her freshly open eyes. Tentatively leaning over, Cait’s shoulder, El smiled as she saw that Cait was awake. “Morning.” El said softly.

Trying to put a brave face on it, Cait looked up and smiled back. “Mornin’” she replied.

“How did you sleep?” El asked further.

“Pretty good. You wore me out last night.” Cait answered, her cheeks blushing slightly red as she spoke.

El chuckled and stroked the soft flesh of Cait’s stomach, tracing the line of Cait’s scar. “I’m glad I could help.” she said. El then gently planted a kiss on Cait’s temple. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Cait immediately shifted and rolled onto her other side, facing El. She then climbed on top of El and tightly wrapped her naked body around El’s. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.” Cait said, resting her head on El’s chest.

El sighed but did not sound annoyed. “You’ll have to let me go eventually.” She said, adjusting the covers so they were still warm.

Cait just shook her head. “No, I don’t. I’m stayin’ like this forever.” Cait then wrapped her limbs even tighter around El’s body.

Accepting defeat, El wrapped her own arms around Cait’s supple body and held her close. “Alright, Cait. We can stay like this for a little while.” she said, leaning in to kiss the top of Cait’s head.

Cait smiled triumphantly; her efforts had worked. They lay there for a good long while in total silence. El slowly stroked Cait’s hair and gently ran her fingers over the faded scars that crisscrossed Cait’s body. Cait shivered slightly, conscious that her scars were a reminder of a past she wanted to forget. But the feel of El’s touch was enough to calm her.

Eventually, however, the faint sound of an infant crying from across the corridor shocked them both out of their dreamworlds. Sighing heavily, El nudged Cait to get her attention. “Come on, Cait. We best get up and have some breakfast. I think somebody is fussing.”

Listening to the muffled fusses from the other room, Cait reluctantly nodded and shifted off El.

* * *

Whilst she did not have much of an appetite, Cait quietly ate her breakfast. Opposite her, El slowly made her way through hers. El’s attention, however, was primarily focused on Natasha silently nursing at her breast. Looking over at El, Cait needed to say something; if anything, to stop herself going insane from the silence. “Do you know whether the machine will actually work?” she asked.

El took a forkful of food in her mouth and slowly chewed, thinking through how best to answer. “I don’t, I’m afraid. It’s never been tested. There are lots of things that could go wrong.”

“Like what?” Cait swallowed.

El bit her lip. This wasn’t going to stop Cait from worrying. “Well, a few things. The machine might break down before I can be teleported. I may be teleported to the wrong place. I might be vapourised by the teleporter. Or I might be teleported off the pad and never reappear; becoming just a formless collection of particles floating through the Commonwealth.”

Cait looked down, wishing she had never asked the question. She couldn’t help but worry that this might be the last time she saw El. Against all her strengths, Cait felt her mouth quivering and tears build up in her eyes. She didn’t want El to go.

 _“Hey, Cait. Can you take Tasha for a bit? I need to get properly dressed."_ Cait suddenly heard El ask from next to her. Looking up, Cait saw El standing over her, Tasha cooing in her arms.

Nodding, Cait carefully took Tasha and held her close as El walked off down the corridor. “Hey squirt.” Cait said happily, wiping her eyes to compose herself. “Mommy feed you up nice and full? We’re…We’re gonna have loads of fun, aren’t we?” she said, rubbing the end of her nose on Tasha’s.

Tasha just giggled and squeezed the end of Cait’s nose with her small chubby fingers.

Cait scrunched her face up and smiled.

* * *

“Systems are operational, ma’am. Corsair frequency is locked in.” Sturges said as she punched innumerable buttons on the teleporter control console.

“Thanks, Sturges. I owe all this to you and your crew.” El replied gratefully.

Sturges chuckled. “Anything to get one up on the Institute.”

El smiled, emboldened by Sturges’ words. It was attitudes like that set her mind at ease. Collecting her beg, El slung it over her shoulders and adjusted the straps for maximum comfort. She then turned towards the loved ones she was leaving behind.

Standing in front of her, fidgeting uncontrollably with her shirt, was Cait. On the face of it, she looked strong and reserved. However, El knew Cait well enough to know that was a front. Judging by the fidgeting, El could tell that Cait was beyond worried. Next to her, in an old buggy that Codsworth had found and lovingly repaired, Tasha lay; her big hazel eyes looking around at the plethora of activity going on around her.

Walking over to Cait and Tasha, El bent down and picked Tasha out of the buggy and held her close. If it were any other situation, El would never leave her four-month-old child and embark on an uncharted course to somewhere she may never return from. This time, however, El needed to do this. The sooner she found Shaun and destroyed the Institute, the safer her, Cait, Shaun, and Tasha would be. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t leave you like this, Tasha.” El said, trying to hold back tears. “But I need to do this. I need to find your brother and bring him home. Then we will be safe, and a family.”

Oblivious to El’s seriousness, Tasha ran her hand along El’s cheek.

“And Cait is going to take such good care of you. You’re going to have so much fun with her. I…I love you so much.” El struggled to say, kissing Tasha deeply on the forehead.

Tasha simply babbled incoherently and attempted to grab loose strands of El’s hair.

As El carefully lowered Tasha back into her buggy, El could not fight the emotions building up inside her. Stroking Tasha’s thick black hair, El let a few pained sobs escape her lips. “I’ll…I’ll be back as soon as I can.” El then said, just about composing herself as she retracted her hand.

Turning to Cait, El smiled affectionately and slowly extended her arms to her. “Come here.” she said invitingly. At first, Cait tried to resist temptation and keep her reserve. However, El’s invitation was too strong to resist. Instantly, Cait wrapped her arms around El’s body and buried her face to her chest.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity; El gently stroking Cait’s hair and peppering small kisses on her scalp. Hearing muffled sniffling, El frowned and pulled away to find tears falling down Cait’s cheeks. “Hey,” El said softly, cupping Cait’s cheek in her hand and wiping a tear away, “no tears, Cait. You’re stronger than that.”

Cait nodded and tried to stay calm. She just didn’t want El to leave. “Please…Please come back.” Cait eventually stuttered.

El rested her forehead on Cait’s and smiled. “I promise.”

Leaning in, El then pressed her lips to Cait’s and kissed her deeply; like she did the night they had confessed their love for each other. Cait, in response, tightly gripped the lapels of El’s coat to bring her in closer. Eventually, both women pulled away to catch their breath. Adjusting themselves, El then wrapped Cait in another tight hug.

Pulling away, El took Cait’s hand and kissed it gently before turning away. As she turned and began walking towards to the teleporter, Cait kept hold of El’s hand for as long as she could.

With her hand finally free of Cait’s grasp, El walked slowly towards the teleporter. Stepping foot onto the teleporter pad, El exhaled heavily; readying herself for whatever came next.

“Ready, Ma’am?” Struges asked, bringing El back to the matter at hand.

Taking a deep breath, El nodded. “Make it so.” She commanded.

With a push of a button and the turn of a dial, the teleporter began to hum and whir as it sparked into life. Surrounding her, jets of steam began to hiss from beneath the pad as the humming got louder. Above her, El saw a large powerful blue beam spark and fizz from the centre of the overhead structure. El swallowed; there was no turning back now.

Standing away from the teleporter, Cait squinted as the beam became too bright to look at. Noticing the faint sound whimpering beside her, Cait saw Tasha beginning to fuss. Picking her up, El held Tasha close; making sure she was facing away from the blinding light.

The teleporter was now seconds away from full power. With the last remaining seconds ticking away, El straight ahead and saw Cait holding Tasha as lovingly and close as she should. As their eyes met, El smiled. _“I love you.”_ she mouthed.

Noticing El’s inaudible declaration, Cait moved to reply. “I love you t-.”

Then, suddenly, the blue beam flashed down from the centre of the overhead structure and onto El’s head. Against all her wishes, Cait was forced to look away and hold Tasha close to her chest. It only lasted a second and Cait immediately looked back towards the pad. But what she saw made her heart sink. There was nothing. El was gone.

The silence that now fell over Sanctuary was then broken by the sound of whimpering as Tasha began to cry. Lightly bobbing her up and down to settle her, Cait rested her cheek on Tasha’s head and held her tightly. Whether she liked it or not, Cait was now on her own.

* * *

With Tasha safely in bed, Cait was left with nothing to do. This was unfamiliar territory for Cait. Ever since meeting El, she had never been without entertainment in the evening. Now that El was gone, Cait realised how little she had in terms of personal hobbies. With no other option, Cait had cleaned her shotgun.

The entire process, however, was a pointless exercise. Cait’s shotgun was in perfect condition and required hardly any work. Sighing forlornly, Cait quickly reassembled her shotgun and slumped back in her chair in abject defeat.

Cait’s mind was blank. She just couldn’t think of anything to do. Eventually, stifling a yawn, Cait decided to go to bed. The worry in Cait’s mind had exhausted her mentally and she longed to just switch off for the night.

Creeping down the corridor, Cait entered hers and El’s bedroom and switched on the light. Walking through and sliding the door shut behind her, Cait quickly closed the curtains and began to change into some night clothes.

Cait had just slipped a vest over her naked torso when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking in the object’s direction, Cait saw a small piece of paper on the bed. Swiping the piece of paper up into her hand, Cait found one word written in El’s handwriting: _Cait_.

Looking down, Cait saw a small holotape sitting on the bed. Immediately snatching the holotape, Cait slid the bedroom door open and ran to the living room. Kneeling in front of the holotape player, Cait jammed the tape into the slot and sat back, cross-legged, waiting for the tape to begin.

After a few seconds of static, a slightly muffled, but deeply familiar, voice began to talk. _“Hey, Cait.”_ El’s voice said. _“It’s El. If you're listening to this, then I will have been teleported into the unknown. I know this is scary for you. But I want you to know that I believe in you, and you’ll be brilliant. You and Tasha have been the greatest things to have ever happened to me since coming into this world. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know where I would be. Quite honestly, I don’t want to know.”_

Cait smiled and closed her eyes, imagining that El was speaking those words whilst cradling her in her arms. El’s voice always calmed Cait when she was anxious.

 _“Anyway,”_ El continued, _“now that I’m gone, I want to leave you with this message, and to tell you that I love you so very much.”_

Cait squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, desperately trying to fight back tears.

 _“I promise that I will come back, Cait.”_ El then said. _"And when I do, I will take such good care of you; in every sense of those words. I…I love you, sweetheart. My little superhero.”_

Cait’s eyes flashed open as El’s voice cut out to static again. El had called her a superhero, she couldn’t have. El was the superhero; Cait was just _Cait_. Immediately, Cait rewound the tape and listened to it all over again. As the hours passed, Cait didn’t care how many she listened to El’s tape. She just wanted to hear El’s voice for as long as possible.

Mercifully, Cait finally passed out from exhaustion on the floor, the sound of El’s voice reverberating peacefully in her ears.

* * *

As one week passed into another, Cait was bored out of her skull and feeling increasingly depressed. There were only so many times you could patrol the perimeter with Tasha wrapped in a makeshift papoose.

That evening, with Tasha finally asleep, Cait had sat down in front of a movie. It was one that she had not seen before and she took her customary place on the floor in front of the sofa. Cait had done this so many times with El. Maybe this would at least give her a semblance of being back with El.

Cait’s attitude to the movie was as it always was, like a giddy child in a theatre. With every explosion, car chase, cheesy line, and heroic finale, Cait’s anticipation only grew.

As the movie reached its inevitable crescendo, and the credits rolled, Cait started gawping at the television screen. “That was fuckin’ awesome!” Cait said loudly as she turned to look behind her.

Cait’s excited smile instantly dropped as she was greeted by an empty sofa. Turning back to the screen, Cait hugged her knees to her chest. She had been so excited by the movie that she had gotten carried away. Burying her face in her knees, Cait just wished things could go back to the way they were.

* * *

_The sound of a baby cooing and giggling brought Cait out of a dreamless sleep. Groaning as she wiped the sleep from her eyes, Cait listened for the sound. Why could she hear a baby giggling? Listening carefully with her dulled senses, Cait could make out the sound of babbling coming from Tasha’s room. Why was Tasha giggling at this time? She should have been asleep._

_Suddenly, the penny dropped and Cait shot up in bed; immediately understanding that something was wrong. Someone must be in Tasha’s room. The question was who?_

_Scrambling off the bed, Cait rushed out of the door and ran into Tasha’s room. Standing in front of her was a tall woman in a dark blue vaultsuit wrapped tightly around her curvaceous body, a large 111 emblazoned on its back. The woman was facing away from her but Cait immediately recognised the individual as El._

_“El! You’re back!” Cait said, dropping her guard and walking towards El’s turned back. El, however, did not turn around and Cait frowned in confusion. Placing a hand on El’s shoulder, Cait attempted to turn her around. “El, it…it’s me.” Cait smiled as El turned._

_Happiness instantly evaporated into horror as El turned to reveal a pair of piercing yellow eyes. These eyes were not the enchanting hazel colour that Cait was used to seeing, these were the eyes of a synth. Cait had seen those eyes before; the detective in Diamond City had them. Cradled in El’s arms, Tasha cooed and babbled happily to herself. Cait immediately began backing away from her, horrified by what she was seeing._

_But then, Cait’s eyes fell on Tasha again. Despite being paralysed with fear over what she was seeing, Cait knew she had to get Tasha away. Reaching out, Cait attempted to snatch Tasha away from El’s grasp._

_Cait, however, was too slow and El suddenly grabbed Cait by the neck and began to lift her off the ground. Gasping desperately for air, Cait gripped El’s wrist to find her skin peeling away to reveal wiring encased around a metal exoskeleton. What had the Institute done to El?_

_“El! El! It…It’s me, Cait!” she shouted breathlessly, kicking helplessly at the air. But, no matter how much Cait squirmed, El’s vice like grip only tightened. As her vision darkened around her, Cait saw El’s mouth morph into an evil toothless smile. “Resistance to the Institute is futile.” El then said unemotionally._

_With one last gasp, Cait tried to speak. “No!” she wheezed. “El, please don’t-.”_

_A sudden click from her neck cut Cait off and her vision went black._

* * *

Cait inhaled sharply for air as she shot up in bed. Coughing breathlessly as she attempted to regulate her breathing, Cait shivered as cold perspiration ran down her body. Attempting to think through what she had just dreamt, Cait struggled to fight back tears. Normally, when Cait had a nightmare, El was always there to hold her and comfort her. Now, Cait was on her own.

Cait, however, was not able to contemplate the dream for long as she heard the faint sound of crying from the room opposite. _“Tasha!”_ Cait whispered, realising that she might not be safe.

Scrambling off the bed, Cait ran to Tasha’s room and found her crying and squirming in her cot. Collecting Tasha in her arms, Cait gently bobbed her up and down as she attempted to sooth her. “Sssh…ssssh…ssssh. It’s okay. It’s okay. Mommy’s here… sssh…ssssh…” Cait whispered softly into Tasha’s ear.

Sitting on her old bed, Cait eventually managed to rock and sooth Tasha back to sleep. As quietly as she could, Cait then stood up and gently lowered Tasha back into her cot. With Tasha once again safe and sound, Cait was able to breathe a little easier. “S-Sorry I took so long.” Cait whispered, attempting to justify herself. “It w-won’t happen again.”

Slumping back down on the bed, Cait put her head in her hands and quietly cried. Trying her best to stay silent, Cait’s shoulders bobbed up and down as she wept into her hands. Cait just wanted El to come home. Wiping her eyes, Cait just about managed to bring herself under control and looked towards Tasha sleeping peacefully. Making a decision, Cait stood up and returned to her bedroom. Collecting her sheets and both hers and El’s pillows, Cait walked back and laid them out on her old bed. Climbing into bed, Cait tightly wrapped the sheets around her and hugged El’s pillow to her chest.

As sleep crept back on her, Cait reached across and touched the edge of El’s cot. “I’m gonna stay with you, Tasha. Us girls gotta stick together. I love you, and I’ll see you in the mornin’. Goodnight, squirt.” El smiled. Slowly retracting her hand, Cait relaxed and allowed sleep to gradually envelop her. Whilst she remained awake, not once did Tasha leave her sight.

* * *

With the flash of a blue and white light, El found herself on the roof of a large building. El was struggling to work out what had happened. A moment ago, she was freeing a group of synths from Bunker Hill when she was beamed away. However, recognising the surrounding skyline, El was able to work out she was atop the CIT ruins.

Noticing footsteps behind her, El instantly swung around and aimed her pistol in their direction. What greeted her, however, was a tall grey-haired man wearing a white lab coat, surveying the scene.

El lowered her gun and placed it back in its holster. She then slowly walked towards him, preparing herself for his inevitable questions. “You know,” he said as El approached, “in all my years, I have never set foot outside the Institute. Not once, since the day they brought me here. I have never had a reason.”

El remained silent, not having anything to say as yet.

“But now, this just confirms the truth I have always known. The Commonwealth is dead. There is no future here. The only hope for humanity lies below.” He said with a rising frustration in his voice.

El lowered her head slightly, sad that she had never seen the world that he was born into. “It wasn’t always like this.” she replied.

"I can only imagine.” he replied, finally turning around. “I’m reminded how fortunate I was spared a life in this wasteland. I know that to you; I was kidnapped from that vault. In truth, the Institute rescued me; both of us, really.”

El frowned at his revelation. “The…The Institute kept me alive too?”

“They did indeed. I was the perfect candidate, an infant with uncorrupted DNA. But the Institute decided that, if something went wrong, if I died, a contingency plan was prudent.”

El took a step back, shocked by what she was hearing. “Wait, it was you who let me out?”

“Yes, it was my decision. Certainly, it was no longer necessary to keep you suspended. I…well, I suppose I wanted to see what would happen; an experiment, of sorts. I had no idea what kind of woman you were, you see. Would the Commonwealth corrupt you, as it has everything else? Would you survive? Most curious of all, would you, after all this time, attempt to find me?”

Whilst her face remained emotionless, deep down, El’s blood was boiling. All this time, through everything, it was all him. He had thawed her out and watched her as she struggled to survive, built her teleporter, and eventually found love and a family. It was all some sick game. “You mean that everything I went through to get here, everything I did to survive, was just some sick experiment?”

“Yes,” she said remorselessly, “and it seems that I was right. But we have more important matters to discuss. I must ask you what you did with those synths.”

Despite feeling nothing but rage, El felt obliged to answer. “I let them go.”

“Why? Why would you do something so…so stupid?” he asked, visibly puzzled and frustrated by El’s answer.

El was only getting angrier. How could Shaun’s first thought go to his precious Institute? “I made a choice, Shaun. The right one. I couldn’t stand by and let the Institute take them away.”

“There is no moral choice here. I trusted you with a simple task. How can I expect you to represent the Institute if this sort of thing continues?” Shaun asked angrily.

El exhaled heavily, exhausted by Shaun’s questioning. “Shaun, I never came here to help the Institute. I came here to find you; to bring you home to your family.”

Shaun’s face did not change. “Then, I suppose, I was right about everything. The Commonwealth has corrupted you as well. I expected as much; befriending militia groups; engaging in the base entertainments of the Commonwealth; bedding the filth of this wasteland.”

El’s eyes widened, horrified by what her own son had just called the woman she loved. He had no right to talk of Cait that way. El, however, needed to hold herself together if she was to convince Shaun to follow her. “But, Shaun, what about your family? What about…your sister?”

Shaun simply rolled his eyes. “Another specimen for the Commonwealth to corrupt.”

El’s mouth dropped open, unable to even speak. Shaun’s own sister was nothing more than a corrupted specimen in his eyes. What had the Institute done to him? This was not the Shaun she imagined. “Shaun, listen to me,” El eventually managed to say, “please come home. We can prove you and the Institute wrong. A family is waiting for you. They’ll love you, and we’ll be happy.”

Shaun just shook his head. “I’m afraid we have nothing left to discuss. You are no longer welcome inside the Institute.”

“No, please, Shaun. Don’t go! We can make this work, I promise-.” El begged, panic beginning to set in.

“Goodbye, Mother.” Shaun cut her off.

With a blue and white beam of light, Shaun vanished; leaving El alone in the silent wasteland.

Struggling to control herself, El dropped to her knees and lowered her head to the ground as she began to cry. After everything she had done to get inside the Institute, it was all for nothing, she had failed. Losing all sense of control, El looked up to the Commonwealth skyline and screamed as loud as she could. She did not care who heard her, El just screamed and screamed.

Eventually, El had screamed herself hoarse and she returned to quietly sobbing alone. It was then that all hope left her mind and she was left with nothing. Whether it was her mind not thinking straight, or something else, El suddenly found herself pulling her pistol from its holster and holding it out in front of her. Slowly, she brought it to her temple and held it as steady as she could. Closing her eyes, El held her breath and pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked but nothing happened. Opening her eyes, El brought the gun down and opened the chamber. Inside were six empty cartridges. El suddenly realised that she had not been able to reload before being teleported away from Bunker Hill.

El immediately began rummaging around her coat pockets for spare ammunition. She had just reached into her left coat pocket when she felt something peculiar in her hand. Pulling it out, El recognised it as a photograph. Examining the photograph, El looked upon a smiling Cait holding a sleeping Tasha in her arms. El remembered snapping the photo not long after Tasha was born. She had then kept it with her when she left for the Institute.

Suddenly, feelings of horror and revulsion flooded El’s mind as she realised what she had just done. In her haze, she had forgotten everyone and everything she had built in a failed attempt at her own life. How could she have done something so selfish?

Looking down, El saw the gun in her hand and immediately threw it on the ground. El then saw her hand trembling uncontrollably. She had noticed this sensation before; it had started after her tour in the military. Now, after two-hundred years, with no therapy, it was becoming evermore noticeable.

As tears welled up in her eyes, El clutched her trembling hand to her chest and hunched herself over in shame. Holding the photograph in front of her, El brought it to her lips and kissed it deeply. “I’m sorry. I’m s-so sorry.” El whispered to herself as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Whatever the reason behind her actions, El hated herself for what she had done.

* * *

Cait sat cradling Tasha in her arms, on the brink of tears. Since being fed, Tasha had done nothing but cry. Cait had tried everything in her arsenal to alleviate the situation, but to no avail; Tasha just would not settle.

Gently bobbing Tasha up and down, Cait looked around desperately for something, anything, that could help. But nothing stood out at her. What was she going to do? Where was El?

Seeing no other option, an old memory suddenly crept into her mind. This was something she did when she was able to hide from the misery of her childhood. When she was safe, in a quiet place, away from the noise, she would do this to calm herself down. Maybe it could work with Tasha.

But, Cait had not done this thing in years and she was not certain whether she still had the ability anymore. Years of slavery, fighting, and addiction could have only done damage. Eventually, Cait decided that there was no other option but to try. Sitting up straight, El cleared her throat.

_“Be sure it’s true when you say I love you._

_It’s a sin to tell a lie._

_Millions of hearts have been broken_

_Just because these words were spoken…”_

To Cait’s immense relief and delight, Tasha began to calm and her crying mercifully dissipated. Realising that, beyond her wildest dreams, it was working, Cait continued to gently sing soft melodies into Tasha’s ear.

After repeating the song a few times, Tasha was fast asleep, and the house was finally returned to relative silence. Sighing heavily as she stroked Tasha’s thick black hair, Cait slowly stood up and carried her over to a small cot positioned near the window. Lowering her down, Cait placed Tasha softly on the mattress and slowly backed away; making sure to keep her noise to a minimum.

 _“You never told me that you could sing.”_ a voice called from behind her.

Immediately recognising the voice, Cait swung around to meet it. There, standing in the doorway, was El. “El?” Cait asked, her eyes widening.

“Hey, sweetheart.” El replied with a smile.

As fast as lightning, Cait threw all caution to the wind and ran towards El. Vaulting over the sofa, Cait jumped into El’s arms and wrapped her legs tightly around her waist. Cait then similarly wrapped her arms around El’s neck and pressed her lips to hers.

Cait was absolutely insatiable; she just could not stop kissing El. El in return wrapped her arms around Cait’s waist and held her close.

Eventually, Cait was forced to pull away and catch her breath. For several moments Cait and El simply stared at each other, both women processing what they had just done and whether they should go any further. “Where the fuck have you been?” Cait finally asked.

“Here and there.” El replied cryptically.

Cait frowned and dislodged herself from El’s waist. “What does that mean? Did you find the Institute? Why were you gone so long?” Cait asked frantically, not caring that she was essentially blocking El’s path.

Placing her hands on Cait’s waist, El attempted to reassure her. “Cait, I would love to answer all your questions. But I’m absolutely exhausted. Right now, I just want to rest for a bit.”

“But, I wanna know. You’ve been gone for weeks.” Cait whinged, not wanting to take no for an answer.

El sighed. “And I promise you I will tell you everything. I just want to rest first. I had a long journey.”

Reluctantly, Cait accepted defeat and nodded. El then placed a small kiss on Cait’s cheek and smiled. “Thank you. Now, how’s our little girl doing?”

Cait immediately glanced towards the cot near the window. “She’s been fine. I just got her to sleep.”

“I can see.” El replied, raising her eyebrows. “When were you going to tell me you could sing?”

Cait bit her lip and her cheeks went very red. “I haven’t done it in years.”

“Well, you sound beautiful. I hope I can hear it more often.” El replied, cupping Cait’s cheek in her hand. “Now, where’s my little girl?” El then said, turning towards the cot.

Walking around the sofa, with Cait close behind, El reached the edge of the cot and peered down at Tasha sleeping soundly. “Hey, Sweetie.” El whispered, reaching down to stroke her cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

Tasha shifted and hummed slightly in her sleep, possibly conscious of another presence around her. Sensing this, El slowly retracted her hand. “I’ll see you when you wake up.” El then whispered.

Turning away from the cot, El shrugged off her coat and threw it down on the sofa arm. She then slumped down on the sofa and sighed deeply. Following suit, Cait herself sat down and snuggled up next to El as much as she could. “I’ve missed you.” she then said, smiling happily.

“I’ve missed you too.” El replied, resting her head on Cait’s shoulder. “It’s so good to be back.”

Cait chuckled. “I’ll say. I was startin’ to get bored. I ain’t cut out for bein’ a single parent.”

Cait waited for a reply but could only hear the steady rise and fall of El’s breathing. Turning her head slightly, Cait found that El was completely sound asleep. Huffing quietly to herself, Cait rested her own head atop El’s and sat back. Whilst she was essentially pinned, at least things were back to the way they were.

* * *

With Tasha fed and safely in bed for the night, Cait and El could finally have some time alone together. Cait had especially been wanting to ask El about her trip to the Institute. Whilst El was busy in the bathroom, Cait sat on the bed, quietly fidgeting.

Finally, El arrived from the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Smiling, Cait stood up and cocked her head to one side. “Hey.” she said softly.

“Hey.” El smiled, walking towards Cait and placing her hands on her waist. “You look beautiful.”

Cait looked away bashfully, her cheeks going bright red. She, however, soon regained her composure and set about getting to the bottom of where El had been. “Okay. Now we’re alone, tell me what happened out there.”

El’s loving smile suddenly dropped for a few seconds, a move that caused Cait to frown slightly. Her smile, however, soon returned, as to not arouse too many suspicions. “Can I kiss you first?” El then asked, stroking Cait’s waist.

Cait wasn’t impressed by El’s stalling, but she would indulge this one thing. “Fine. One kiss.” she huffed.

Leaning in, El placed her lips on Cait’s and hummed contentedly. Similarly, Cait hummed happily as she rekindled the feel of El’s lips. This was something that Cait had truly missed.

Pulling away, Cait considered El satisfied and the matter closed. “Okay, you’ve had your kiss. Now tell me-.”

Cait was suddenly cut off by El once again pressing her lips against hers. The kiss was more forced than the last and Cait was somewhat startled by the ferocity of El’s movements. Why was El stalling so much?

As El continued to kiss her with ever increasing intensity, Cait was beginning to get annoyed. Whilst she did love it when El kissed her, she wanted to hear about where El had been before going any further. “El, can we-?” Cait asked as she tried to catch a momentary breath.

Cait was then, once again, cut off as El grabbed both sides of her head and mashed her lips on hers. Cait didn’t know what was going on; why was El acting this way? Why was she being so forceful?

Trying to prize herself away, Cait took El’s hands and, using considerable strength, managed to bring them away from her head. Now free of El’s grip, Cait was able to speak. “Why are you actin’ this way, El?” she asked seriously.

Cait had barely finished her question when El grabbed Cait’s shirt and forcibly ripped it open. As buttons clattered to the ground, Cait desperately tried to cover her modesty; highly conscious that she was not wearing a bra. Looking up, Cait saw not a hint of remorse in El’s face. Whoever this person was, she wasn’t El. “El, what the fuck?” Cait begged.

El did not respond and wrapped her arm around Cait’s waist, holding her in a vice like grip. As Cait tried to wrench herself free, El began to vigorously pinch her exposed nipples and kiss her way down Cait’s neck. “El, stop it. I don’t want to.” Cait beseeched, trying to push El away from her. But El would not stop and only intensified her movements. “El, get off! I don’t want-!” Cait’s breath suddenly hitched as El’s hand slipped inside Cait’s shorts and began to forcefully massage her pussy. Gripping El’s arms, Cait had to fight with all her inner strength to keep from moaning.

Eventually, however, Cait could not take any more and her patience snapped. Cait had to get this person off her. “El, stop. I… GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” Cait shouted. As her survival instincts kicked in, Cait, without thinking, slapped El violently across the face.

Reeling away, El nursed her injured cheek and lowered her head. Covering her exposed breasts, Cait backed away even further when she heard El let out a low snarl. El’s own frustration only grew from Cait’s rebuff. Fine. If Cait wanted to play it rough, she could definitely play rough, El thought to herself.

Looking up, El removed her hand from her cheek and stared at Cait with a look of complete and utter anger and disgust. Cait in response backed away even further from this stranger standing in front of her. This person had El’s form, but underneath was no different to her tormentors. What had the Institute done to El?

Suddenly, however, El’s face softened as she befell Cait standing in front of her. Cait was a mess; her hair was dishevelled; her clothes were ripped open; her shorts were slowly slipping down her legs. What had she done?

Realising that she had done this, to the woman she loved, feelings of self-loathing swept into El’s mind. How could she have done something like that? “Cait, I…I…” El stuttered as she realised that she had behaved no differently to Cait’s tormentors; she had treated Cait like an object.

Covering her mouth, El felt sick at what she had done. “Cait, I…I… Cait, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I…I…” El found that she couldn’t finish as she began to both sob and gag in disgust at herself. Dropping to her knees, El lowered her head in wept in shame. “I’m s-so s-s-sorry, Cait. I didn’t mean to. That…That wasn’t me. Please…Please forgive me. That wasn’t me. That wasn’t me.” El cried, begging for forgiveness.

Cait’s mouth dropped open at what she was seeing; El was kneeling in front of her, completely broken and begging for forgiveness. Slowly, Cait walked towards El and rested her hands on El’s shoulders. El in response gripped Cait’s waist with all her strength and buried her face in Cait’s stomach; weeping inconsolably.

As El held on for dear life, Cait gently stroked her hair and attempted to find a way of calming her down. Searching her memory, Cait remembered how El would take her in her arms and gently rock her back and forth. Lowering herself down, Cait wrapped her legs around El’s waist and pulled her into a tight embrace.

El immediately responded by wrapping her arms around Cait’s neck and resting her forehead on Cait’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Cait. I’m s-so sorry.” El continued to wail as she cried into Cait’s chest.

Using some of El’s own techniques, Cait gently rocked and hummed into El’s ear until, mercifully, her tears began to subside. “Y-You have a lovely voice.” El eventually said through muffled sobs.

Interpreting El’s comment as a sign that she was calm enough to speak, Cait pulled away and kissed El’s cheek. As she gazed into El’s eyes, she saw how terrified they looked. Cait could only wonder if that was how she had looked to El after her overdose. What had happened to El to make her fall so low? “El, why…why did you do that?” Cait then asked.

El looked down again in shame. “I…I don’t know. Please believe me, Cait. That wasn’t me. Please…Please forgive me.” she begged, bringing her arms around from Cait’s neck to grip her shirt.

Cait leaned in and rested her forehead on El’s and stroked her soft hair. “I forgive you.” she whispered.

El immediately gripped the sides of Cait’s head and began to pepper small and affectionate kisses on her face. “Thank you, Cait. Thank you. Thank you. I love you so, so much.” El repeated with every kiss.

Eventually, however, Cait took El’s hands in hers and looked deep into her eyes; a look of seriousness on her face. “But, before I can truly forgive you, I need you to tell me what happened.”

El’s eyes widened, knowing exactly what Cait was referring to. Accepting that there was nowhere left to run, El reluctantly nodded.

Loosening her grip, Cait sat back to let El find her words. Wiping her eyes, El took several shaky breaths before speaking. “W-When I went through the teleporter, I…I…” El trailed off as she suddenly saw the state of Cait’s clothes. “Oh, Cait, your shirt.”

Cait frowned, confused by what El was talking about. “My what?”

“Your shirt.” El replied despondently, taking the material in her hands. “I’ve ruined it. This was your favourite.”

Cait huffed in response, knowing full well that El was deliberately stalling. “El, stop stallin’. It’s only a shirt. Just fuckin’ tell me-.”

“No, no, no, it’s fine. It’s not ruined. I-I-It’s just the buttons have come off. I-I-I can fix that. I have a needle and thread somewhere. I can fix it.” El then began to scramble about, looking through her bedside drawers for some sewing equipment.

“El, just fuckin’ stop!” Cait said through gritted teeth. Grabbing both sides of El’s head, Cait stared deep in her eyes to calm her down. Losing herself in Cait’s enchantingly green eyes, El gradually settled. Again, removing her grip from El’s head, Cait looked down to find that El’s hands were trembling violently. “El, your hands are shakin’.” Cait said, concerned that she had never seen El do this before.

El looked away and clutched her hands together in a futile attempt to stop them shaking. “It’s just something they do.”

“Tell me.” Cait commanded softly, holding El close.

El sighed and closed her eyes. “Back in my old life, when I was in the military, I…I saw a lot of things; things I wanted to forget. When I got back home, I noticed that my hands would sometimes start shaking. It comes and goes. Being…Being with you helps.”

Taking El’s hands in hers, Cait gently kissed them; hoping that such an action would sooth El’s anxiety. “Better?” Cait asked softly.

Attempting a smile, El nodded.

Stroking El’s soft flesh, Cait attempted once again to get the answers she wanted. “El, I’m gonna ask you again. What happened?”

Much calmer this time, El found it far easier to talk. “When I went through the teleporter, it took me to inside the Institute.”

“You mean the machine worked?” Cait interrupted.

El nodded and continued. “Yeah, it worked. It took me inside the Institute. When I got there, I started looking for Shaun.”

“Did you find him?” Cait interrupted again.

El’s face dropped, reminded of what she subsequently discovered. “Yeah… I did.”

Confused about why El looked so sad about this news, Cait probed further. “Well, where is he?”

“He’s…He’s…old.” El replied downheartedly, a solitary tear streaming down her face.

“What?” Cait frowned.

“He’s an old man, Cait.” El answered clearly. “He’s grey. The day they stole him from me was sixty years ago. He’s lived an entire lifetime.”

Cait’s eyes widened at El’s revelation; that would technically make him older than El. “Did you tell him about us?” she asked.

El nodded but her expression did not change. “I did. But he doesn’t care about us, Commonwealth, or coming home. He only cares for the Institute.”

“What did you do then? Why didn’t you come home then?” Cait continued to ask, somewhat selfishly.

“I wanted to. But I wanted to try and change his mind. So, I worked for the Institute. I did their dirty work. I thought that by helping I could convince him to see my point of view. But then, he asked me to track down some rogue synths at Bunker Hill. When I found them, I couldn’t turn them over. They looked so scared. In that moment, I made a decision; I let them go.”

Cait sat quietly stroking El’s trembling hand, listening intently to her every word. She was not going to move until she heard everything.

“As soon as I freed them, I was teleported to the old CIT ruins; where he was waiting for me. When I tried to explain myself to him about what I did, he banished me from the Institute. I tried to talk to him; about you, Tasha, everything. But he just wrote them off as the scum of the Commonwealth. Then he teleported away, leaving me alone.” El bowed her head, not wanting to say anything more. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Cait about her failed suicide attempt. Cait would probably never forgive her for that.

As El finished, Cait tried to remain calm about she had just told her. But what made Cait’s blood boil most was how Shaun had regarded Tasha as Commonwealth scum. How dare he call _her_ daughter something as base as that. “The bastard!” Cait spat, anger building up inside her.

El did not react to Cait’s words and simply looked away. “Two-hundred years in a frozen box, and, when I finally found my son, he mocked his own family.”

Cait found that she could not find an answer for that. How could you find a silver lining for that? “So, what do we do now then?” Cait asked eventually, not knowing what else to ask.

At that question, El’s face hardened with a new determination. “We find another way into the Institute and get Shaun out of there.”

Cait nodded. “Well, I’m comin’ with you this time.”

Not expecting Cait to say that, El shook her head vigorously. “No, Cait, you can’t. It’s too dangerous; and what about Tasha?”

“I eat danger for breakfast, El.” Cait replied loudly. “And Tasha’s comin’ with us. She’s the strongest baby in the Commonwealth.”

El could not help but chuckle at Cait’s remarks. Cait always knew how to cheer El up if the need arose. “You think?” she then asked, stroking the soft flesh of Cait’s leg.

“Yep.” Cait answered, very sure of herself. “She gets it from her mother.”

This time El properly laughed, unable to keep at straight face. Cait also could not help but smile. It made her happy to see El laugh properly again. Once she had calmed down, however, El nodded in acceptance. “Okay. We’ll do that.”

Cait was not finished though and had one last thing to clear up. “But, before we do anythin’, I need you to do somethin’, El.” Cait’s voice was calm, but authoritative.

“Anything, Cait. Anything.” El replied, nodding enthusiastically.

Cait’s face suddenly turned serious. “You hurt me a lot tonight. You treated me like my slavers and my parents did. If we’re to carry on, I want you to promise to never do that again.”

El immediately kissed Cait’s hand and held it close. “I promise, Cait. I’m so sorry. I will never hurt you again. I swear on my life.”

“Alright. I forgive you, for everyhtin’.” Cait replied, resting her forehead on hers.

El squeezed her eyes shut and leant in to place her lips on Cait’s. The kiss was long and slow, but there was no drive to take it any further. Both women simply wanted to stay in each other’s arms and share their collective warmth. “Thank you, Cait. I love you so much.” El eventually said, pulling away.

“I love you too.” Cait replied, pulling El into a tight hug. They sat in their embrace for several minutes, seeing no reason to move. “Even superheroes need help sometimes.” Cait then whispered in El’s ear.

El smiled and pulled away, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in days. “Yeah, I suppose they do.” she chuckled.

“So,” Cait then said, returning them both to the matter at hand, “how do we get inside the Institute?”

El had to think for several moments before answering. “We’re going to need some help…from some old friends.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. 
> 
> Well, we did it. This story has passed the 100,000 word mark. To be honest, I can't quite believe it's come this far. I owe this all to your support. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos, if you can. It really helps. 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you on the next chapter.


	15. Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait assemble a crew to bring down the Institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I hope you all staying safe. 
> 
> I know it's been a while since the last chapter. Again, fitting writing around my daily activities is as been incredibly difficult recently. 
> 
> However, to thank you for all your ongoing support, I thought that there was no better way to thank you than giving you all a new chapter for Christmas. 
> 
> Enjoy!

As they slowly worked their way along the coast, Cait watched El. Striding down the waterfront, El gently cradled a sleeping Tasha to her chest; wrapped in a tight papoose. Cait huffed quietly at how peaceful Tasha looked cuddled up to El’s chest. “She always sleeps better with you.” she eventually said.

Looking down at Tasha, El chuckled. “She sleeps well on your chest too.”

“But she goes to sleep quicker when she’s on yours.” Cait continued, clearly looking for an argument.

At this point, El looked across at Cait and raised her eyebrows, ready to counter her argument. “I know someone who does the exact same thing.” she said, nodding toward Cait and smiling mischievously.

Goaded by El’s retort, Cait scrunched her face up and narrowed her eyes. “I can’t help it if your tits are so comfy.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask for these!” El snapped, gesturing to her breasts. “They just started growing and wouldn’t stop.”

“Well then, you can’t blame me for wantin’ to sleep on them then.” Cait then said, a huge smug smile plastered across her face.

El frowned, baffled by Cait’s strange, yet not entirely incorrect, logic. “That’s not the point, Cait. It’s-.” By now, El gave up, turned her head away from Cait, and quietly mumbled to herself in frustration.

Watching El mumble, Cait chuckled and smiled at her self-proclaimed victory. El always mumbled to herself when she lost an argument. Nine times out of ten, El would win. But, on the few occasions that _she_ won, Cait couldn’t help but laugh at how much of a sore loser El was.

Hearing Cait’s chuckling, El turned back to her and saw her triumphantly smug smile. El just shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You know the word.” she then said rhetorically.

“Incorrigible?” Cait replied.

El nodded. “Yep. A pain in my arse!”

Cait snorted and looked down, blushing slightly as she brushed a few loose strands of fringe behind her ear.

* * *

Cait was not sure how to feel as they approached the Castle. The last time she was here, she had almost died at the hands of a Mierlurk Queen. Whilst, ultimately, the incident did allow her and El to come closer together, she still felt embarrassed that she always seemed to need her life saved.

The Castle had definitely changed a lot since their previous visit. Whilst the gaps in the outer walls were still there, the Minutemen had built several barricades to fill them in.

What drew most of El’s attention, however, were the huge guns positioned on each of the Castle bastions. El had not stayed at the Castle long enough to see the guns fully installed, but she couldn’t wait to see them in action.

 _“Halt!”_ a voice called from atop one of the barricades. _“State your name and business!”_

El immediately halted and put her hands up. “It’s El and Cait. We’re here to see Preston!”

 _“Advance and be recognised!”_ the voice called again.

El and Cait stepped forward and into the path of a large spotlight. Looking up, El squinted her eyes as she stared up at the Castle barricade. After a few seconds, the guard lowered the spotlight _“Open the barricade! Welcome back, General!”_

El lowered her hands and nodded up to the barricade. “It’s good to be back.” she replied.

With a large metallic clunk, a gap slowly opened up and El and Cait walked through.

The inside of the Castle was the biggest surprise for El and Cait. Gone were the endless Mierlurk nests, mounds of dirt, and seaweed. Now, the Castle courtyard was an open space dominated by the huge radio antenna. Most of all, and to both El and Cait’s relief, the horrible smell that accompanied Mierlurks was finally gone.

As El and Cait reached the centre of the courtyard, they were greeted by Preston Garvey exiting the archway leading to the living quarters. “General! It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time. Good to see you too, Cait. You’ve turned into a bit of a legend around here.”

Cait frowned, but more out of curiosity than annoyance. “A legend? What the hell for?”

“For that stunt you pulled with your axe on the Mierlurk Queen. It’s turned into quite the legend. Everyone here knows it. We even hung one of the claws on the wall of the General’s quarters.”

Cait bit her lip, feeling very uneasy. The Minutemen were talking about how stupid she was.

Conscious of Cait’s anxious look, El attempted to rescue the conversation. “Hey, Preston. It’s good to see you again.”

“We’re glad to have you back. I should also offer my congratulations on your new arrival.” Preston continued, gesturing to the bundle cradled to El’s chest.

El chuckled and looked down to stroke Tasha’s hair. “Thank you. The Minutemen in Sanctuary must have told you. She’s sleeping at the moment, but this is Natasha.” El then turned to show Tasha sleeping peacefully on her chest.

Preston gave a reserved smile and gently stroked Tasha’s thick black hair. “She’s very beautiful, General. I’m happy for you. You must be very proud.”

El nodded and glanced over at Cait. “We both are.”

“Well, you must want to put her to bed. You can have the General’s quarters.” Preston then said, gesturing towards the southeast bastion.

Cait immediately stepped forward. “I can take her. I’ll leave you two to chat.” she said, gently taking Tasha out of her papoose and holding her close.

“Are you sure, Cait?” El asked, slightly concerned at the haste at which Cait which reacted.

Cait simply nodded and gave El a reserved smile. “Where are the General’s quarters?” she then asked, turning to Preston.

“Just go through the archway, turn right, go down to the end, and then turn left.” Preston answered, pointing to the entrance to the living quarters.

Cait nodded to Preston and turned back to El. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Alright. I’ll see you inside. Love you.” El said reassuringly as she planted a small kiss on Cait’s cheek.

“Love you too.” Cait mumbled in reply before quietly walking off inside the Castle.

Only when Cait was out of earshot did Preston resume his and El’s conversation. “Is she alright, General?”

El exhaled deeply through her nose. “I think she’s just a little cut up about being back here, for want of a better phrase. The fact that people are talking about her fight with the Mierlurk Queen makes her feel awkward.”

Preston nodded, understanding El completely. “I see. She shouldn’t worry. We admire her here for what she did. Only someone as brave as her would do something like attacking a Mierlurk Queen head on. It’s why we hung the claw on the wall; we’re proud of her.”

El could only smile. “That’s what I’ve told her many times. But, unfortunately, she is very stubborn and takes a great deal of convincing. Maybe _you_ could tell her. She might listen to you.”

Preston raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps I will, if I get a chance.”

“Great.” El replied happily. “I think she’ll like that. Now, how are things here? You’ve certainly done a lot of work on the defences.”

“Thank you.” Preston replied gratefully. “Yes, if I do say so myself, the defences are coming along nicely. We still have long way to go, but it’s a start. I hope the sentries didn’t give you too much trouble.”

El simply shook her head. “It’s nothing I haven’t experienced before.”

“Apologies for the added security.” Preston continued. “We’ve had incidents of the potential infiltration in the past few days.”

Curious of this development, El raised her eyebrows. “What kind of infiltration?”

Noticing someone passing by in the distance, Preston gestured to them before replying. “I think it would be best if we discussed this with Commander Shaw.”

Walking across the Castle Courtyard, El was greeted by Commander Ronnie Shaw; standing defensively with her arms crossed as she listened to the day’s updates. El remembered her as being as hard as nails and completely unwavering in her fortitude. She reminded El of her old drill sergeant from her time in the military. The Minutemen were in safe hands with soldiers like her. “General, it’s good to see you again. What can I do for you?” Shaw greeted as she saw El approach.

“Evening Commander. Good to be back. I’m here regarding the Institute.” El replied, immediately feeling like she was back in the military.

“I was just explaining the extra security we had to put in place.” Preston added.

“Ah, yes.” Shaw nodded. “The Institute is the reason we had to put those measures in place. We’ve seen a few of those synth spies snooping around the vicinity. We think they may be planning some kind of an attack.”

El nodded. “I’m not surprised they’re planning an attack. They most likely knew I was coming here.”

“The Minutemen in Sanctuary told us about your trip inside the Institute. That’s great work. Did you find anything that could get more of us inside?” Shaw asked.

“I managed to get a tape of the Institute network.” El answered. “Sturges is currently decrypting it. Hopefully, he’ll uncover some secret entrance that’s right under our noses.”

Shaw then gave a knowing toothless smile. “And you want our help to bring them down?”

“You took the words out of my mouth.” El smiled back.

“Well, in that case”, Preston added, “we best get the defences properly manned for tomorrow. If the Institute know the General is here, I expect the attack will come within days.” Preston then turned to El and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I suggest you get some rest, General.”

“No, Preston. I need to stay and help. This attack is about me. I should at least do my part.” El tried to protest.

Preston, however, did not budge. “I insist, General. Get some rest and we can pick this up in the morning.”

El sighed, accepting defeat. “Alright, I’ll get some sleep. I should probably check on Cait anyway. Goodnight to you both.”

“Goodnight, General.” Preston and Shaw replied in almost perfect unison.

* * *

Turning onto her back, Cait stared up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. She had been tossing and turning for hours, unable to sleep. Looking across to the other side of the bed, Cait’s face dropped at how peacefully El slept next to her. How was it that El was able to sleep anywhere?

Sitting up, Cait hugged her knees to her chest and shivered slightly, feeling hugely uncomfortable. Cait didn’t like it here; it was cold and damp. This place also reminded Cait too much of places where she had been locked up during her years as a slave. To add insult to injury, she had almost died here; no amount of El’s comforting and reassurance would stop her feeling embarrassed about that.

Finally accepting that sleep was pointless, Cait gently shifted to the edge of the bed and slipped on her boots. Cait smiled at the ease at which her feet slid into them. El had bought them for her during a stopover in Diamond City and, as a result, Cait’s feet had never been so comfortable.

Standing up, Cait grabbed her jacket and quietly snuck out her the General’s quarter’s. She had almost closed the door when she saw Dogmeat scuttle out to join her. Huffing at the fact she would have to deal with El’s dog as well, Cait hugged her arms to her chest and walked outside.

The Castle courtyard was considerably quieter than it had been when they arrived. The only activity at this hour seemed to be guard changes. Taking a seat at the edge of the courtyard, Cait sat back and allowed herself to clear her head.

 _“Can’t sleep either, huh?”_ a voice said approaching her.

Cait turned her head immediately to find Preston standing in front of her, a friendly, but inquisitive look on his face. Wishing that El was here so she didn’t need to speak to someone she didn’t know very well, Cait was at a loss for words. After a few seconds, however, Cait just nodded and looked straight ahead. “I don’t like this place. Reminds me of a place I wanna forget.”

Preston nodded as he took a seat next to Cait. “I know how you feel. I don’t sleep too good here either.”

Cait did not respond, feeling unbearably awkward about one of El’s friends attempting to be friendly with her. Cait hated these kinds of situations.

“The General told me about your feelings for this place.” Preston finally said, attempting to start a conversation by addressing Cait directly.

This got Cait’s attention. “What did she say?” she asked, conscious that her girlfriend was talking about her behind her back.

“All she said was that you feel embarrassed by what you did with the Mierlurk Queen.” Preston answered.

Cait could only scrunch her face up in mild frustration. _“Why did El have to say stuff like that?”_ she mumbled.

Hearing Cait’s mumbling, Preston set about explaining himself. “You should know, Cait, that we tell that story because we find it inspiring. The only way the Minutemen are going to take back the Commonwealth is if we have people who are willing to take risks. You knew the risks of attacking a Mierlurk Queen head on, but you did it anyway. That’s the kind of courage we want to teach everyone in the Minutemen.”

All Cait wanted to do was roll her eyes. These Minutemen were so fucking righteous. “But it was stupid! It didn’t bring the bastard down, and I nearly fuckin’ died!” she spat back, a lot louder than she was expecting.

“I understand that, Cait.” Preston replied calmly. “But the fact that you didn’t is proof enough to us that what you did should be applauded. And anyway, everybody does stupid things in their life; I for one have my fair share. It’s how others remember those things that matters. What you did that day, we remember it as courageous.”

As she listened to Preston, Cait couldn’t understand what she was hearing; people found her inspiring. Cait had never expected _anyone_ she came across to be inspired by her. Cait was supposed to live a life of insignificance.

“Unfortunately, I need to get back to work. The watch can’t wait.” Preston then said, bringing Cait back from her thoughts. “Goodnight, Cait.”

“…Goodnight.” Cait eventually said as Preston walked off across the courtyard.

With Preston gone, Cait was alone with her thoughts again. Now that Preston’s revelations had sunk in, Cait suddenly felt a shy, but happy, smile cross her lips; people actually found her inspiring. That had never happened to her before. The only emotions she believed she elicited from people, apart from El and Tasha, were lust, suspicion, or hatred. The fact that other people found her inspiring made Cait feel something new outside of her relationship with El; it made her feel valued.

Hearing a peculiar whimpering at her feet, Cait looked down to find Dogmeat placing his chin on her knees. Cait immediately frowned, unsure of what to do. Ever since meeting El, Cait had never bonded much with Dogmeat. Dogmeat similarly had never attempted to bond with Cait. Why then was he suddenly asking for attention? “What do you want?” Cait asked firmly, not sure of how best to speak to a dog.

Dogmeat lifted his paw and placed it on the back of Cait’s hand.

Trying to work out what he wanted, Cait apprehensively extended her hand and began to gently rustle Dogmeat’s fur.

Dogmeat tail instantly started wagging as Cait moved onto ruffling behind his ears. Cait was unable to stop smiling, El’s mutt wasn’t so bad after all. “Huh, you really _are_ a good boy.” she said, scratching Dogmeat’s chin.

Dogmeat in response reared up and licked Cait’s cheek. Cait immediately scrunched her face up, trying not to laugh. “Come on. Let’s go back to bed. El will be missin’ us.”

Standing up, Cait lead Dogmeat back inside the Castle and quietly back into the General’s quarters. After watching Dogmeat curl up next to Tasha’s makeshift crib, Cait unlaced her boots, shrugged off her jacket, and climbed back into bed.

As soon as Cait’s head hit the pillow, El immediately rolled over so she was facing her. “Where did you go?” El mumbled, still half asleep.

“Just had to get some air.” Cait whispered.

El then reached out and wrapped her arm around Cait’s waist, bringing her close. “I love you.” she murmured, resting her head on Cait’s chest.

“Love you too.” Cait replied, smiling from the warmth that El was emitting.

As El effortlessly slipped back into sleep, Cait let her eyes slowly close, for the first time, feeling comfortable about where she was.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re comfortable about taking her?” El asked, gently bobbing Tasha up and down in her arms.

The female Minuteman private stood up straight with her hands behind her back. “It would be an honour, General.”

After several seconds of thought, El nodded and carefully handed Tasha to the soldier. “Take good care of her.” she said, her voice threatening to break.

“Of course, General.” The Minuteman reassured. “We’ll stay in the tunnels underneath the Castle. It will be safe and, hopefully, quiet down there.”

With Tasha safely in the Minuteman’s arms, El gently stroked her thick black hair and kissed her forehead. “Mommy’s got to take care of some bad guys, alright Tasha? But private…” El looked up at the Minuteman expectantly.

“Davies, Ma’am.” The Minuteman answered, understanding what El was implying.

Nodding, El returned to speaking to Tasha. “Private Davies is going to take care of you.”

Tasha simply babbled and began to fiddle with the lapels of Private Davies’s uniform. El could only smile. Giving one last kiss on Tasha’s forehead, El turned to Cait. “Shall we go?”

Cait nodded and watched El exit into the courtyard. Once El was gone, Cait gently kissed a babbling Tasha on the cheek. “You take good care of her. Understood.” she then said curtly, pointing a finger at Davies.

Davies’ eyes widened slightly and she nodded obediently, a little terrified by Cait’s attitude. “Y-Yes, Ma’am.”

Interpreting Davies’ look of fear as confirmation that she would do her job well, Cait lowered her finger and sheepishly walked out into the courtyard. Spotting El near one of the wall barricades, Cait quietly joined her and the Minutemen who had gathered.

Once the garrison had been fully assembled, Ronnie Shaw stepped forward and turned to face the assembly. “Alright you mooks, I’m sure you’re all aware that we’ve seen those Institute tin cans snooping around outside. We think they’re planning an attack.” Shaw then looked over at El. “Now, the General is going to say some words about why. General?”

El bowed her head and began walking up to where Shaw stood. Turning around, El faced the assembly and began. “Just so everyone is clear, the reason the Institute is going to attack is me. I made it into the Institute and got hold of some highly sensitive information. My contact in Sanctuary is currently decrypting the data; hopefully what’s on there will be of use. But, in the process, I ended up alienating the Institute’s leader and he expelled me, declaring war on me in the process. They won’t rest until I have been stopped. That’s why we’re here. I need your help to bring them down.”

El looked down at Cait and saw her grip her axe tightly in her hands. She clearly looked ready to destroy some synths. At least she was wearing her armour. “That’s all I have to say. I’ll hand you back to Commander Shaw.” El then stepped down and returned to her original place next to Cait.

Stepping back up, Shaw’s already stern face turned serious. “Alright folks. You know your positions. Go go!”

The Minuteman immediately sprang into action and quickly scattered off to their positions, leaving El, Cait, and Dogmeat alone in the courtyard. Turning to Cait, El gave a reserved smile. “Well, we have our positions. I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Urr, yeah. Suppose I will. Good luck.” Cait replied, biting her lip.

Suddenly, El wrapped her arm around Cait’s waist and lifted her up to kiss her deeply. Cait immediately dropped her axe and enclosed her own arms around El’s neck, returning the kiss with equal enthusiasm.

Eventually, El and Cait pulled away, but stayed smiling at each other. “Love you.” Cait eventually said.

“I know.” El replied, smirking mischievously.

Cait raised an eyebrow, seeing through El’s flippant reply immediately. “You’re so corny.”

El’s smirk only intensified. “You love it.” she said, planting a small kiss on the end of Cait’s nose.

Cait scrunched her face up and giggled quietly, not wanting anybody else to hear her. Only El was allowed to hear her giggle. “C-Can you put me down?” she then asked shyly.

El nodded, gently lowered Cait down, and tucked some strands of Cait’s fringe behind her ear.

“Stop it!” Cait said, bowing her head to hide her blush.

El held her hands up, unable to keep from laughing. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

Cait bit her lip to hide her smile. As much as she protested, she did like it when El did that. “W-We should go.” she eventually said, watching the other Minutemen taking their positions.

“Right, yes, we should go. Well, good luck. I’ll see you soon.” El replied, her face turning serious again.

“See you around.” Cait added.

El turned away but stopped to look down at Dogmeat, sitting quietly and expectantly for his next command. “You coming, boy?” she asked, tapping her leg.

Dogmeat deliberated for several seconds then totted over to sit at Cait’s feet. Frowning in curiosity, El looked up an equally surprised Cait. “We’re startin’ to become friends.” Cait finally said, gently rustling Dogmeat’s fur.

El found it almost impossible to contain her joy and she smiled happily. “So proud of you.”

* * *

El stood on the barricade, her rifle aimed out towards the surrounding swamp. She and the Minutemen had been on high alert since that morning, waiting for when the Institute inevitably attacked. El wondered how Cait was doing. As she was skilled with a melee weapon, Cait has assigned herself to the Northwest breach in the wall. It was expected that the Institute would go for the still more rudimentary defences of the Northwest wall, so Cait was definitely needed.

Suddenly, El spotted something sculking in the distance. It was difficult to make out much detail, but its piercing yellow eyes betrayed everything. Taking a deep breath, El gripped her rifle tightly to prevent her hands from trembling too much. She had work to do.

Then they came. From the distance, as if rising up from the swamp, a swarm-like squad of robotic skeletal figures came slowly charging towards the Castle. Almost immediately, they began firing aimlessly at the barricade, the blue beams of their laser guns leaving deep black scorches in their wake.

“Alright bozos! Here they come! Light ‘em up!” Ronnie Shaw shouted, pointing towards the approaching horde.

Suddenly, El jumped out of her skin as the deafening sound of the Castle cannons fired an opening salvo. Looking towards the swamp, El watched as several of the approaching synths were obliterated the incoming salvos. In a matter of seconds, robotic body parts, synthetic skin, and circuitry littered the ground.

Yet the synths kept coming and soon they were almost at the walls. Returning her mind to the task at hand, El steadied herself and opened fire.

* * *

Cait stood on the Northwest barricade with her axe gripped tightly in hands, watching the Institute synths approaching her position. Cait’s face hardened, ready to smash those tin cans into dust. She did not even flinch as the other Minutemen around her opened fire.

However, no amount of firepower could stop the horde of synths and they were soon storming the barricades. Cait immediately swung into action. Noticing a synth attempting to scale the barricade, Cait swung her axe down smashed it into the synth’s head. The synth instantly fell to the ground and crumpled into a pile of lifeless robotics and circuitry.

Breathing heavily, Cait looked to her right and saw another synth grab a Minuteman by the neck and attempt to pull him over the barricade. Instantaneously, Cait brought her axe down and severed the synth’s arm, freeing the Minuteman. “Thank you, Ma’am.” the Minuteman said, steadying himself.

“Thank me when this is over.” Cait grunted in reply, smashing another in the shoulder and almost slicing it in half. This time, however, Cait swung too hard and her axe embedded itself in the wooden barricade. Attempting to wrench her weapon free, Cait looked away at the wrong time. Hearing the sound of something clamouring over the barricade Cait reached for her shotgun.

It was then that she saw the synth. In the futile attempt to retrieve her axe, the synth had managed to scale the barricade and was aiming its laser rifle at her. Realising that she had mere seconds, Cait pulled out her shotgun and attempted to save herself.

But Cait was too slow. Before she could aim her shotgun, Cait found herself falling to the ground as the synth violently kicked her in the stomach. Still dazed from the impact of the kick, and landing on her back, Cait watched the synth aim his rifle at her and fire.

As the synth pulled the trigger, however, it stumbled as Dogmeat bit into its leg. Losing its footing, as the synth fired, the laser veered off and grazed the edge of Cait’s arm. Sensing her chance, Cait raised her shotgun and fired.

With a loud bang, the synth exploded in half as Cait emptied her shotgun into its stomach. As the synth’s piercing yellow eyes went blank, Cait rolled onto her side side and nursed her stomach; that synth’s kick had some serious force to it.

Cait then looked towards El’s position and her face turned to a look of horror. Infront of her eyes, Cait saw a synth swipe El across her face and knock her down to the ground. Groaning as she pulled herself onto her feet, Cait climbed back onto the barricade, and, with one strong pull, wrenched her axe free. Jumping down from the barricade, Cait then ran to El’s position as fast as she could.

* * *

The sound of constant gunfire was deafening El’s ears as she brought down her eight synth since Shaw had ordered the Minutemen to open fire. Despite this, the waves of synths were unrelenting and had almost broken through. Before long, the Institute synths had reached the barricade and were attempting to scale it.

Leaning over the barricade, El aimed down and fried relentlessly into synth’s head, sending it plummeting to the ground. Then, at the worst possible moment, El’s rifle clicked; she was out of ammo. Gritting her teeth, El cursed as she pulled out the empty cartridge and reached into her coat for a replacement. El had just clipped the new magazine into her rifle when she saw another synth scaling the top of the barricade. Almost immediately, El swung around and aimed her rifle towards the intruder.

Before she could aim, however, the synth grabbed the gun barrel and easily wrenched it from her grasp. El then suddenly felt a throbbing pain on the side of her head as the synth smacked the butt of the rifle across the side of her face. As El reeled in pain, her feet slipped off the barricade and she fell backwards onto the ground.

Still dazed from the throbbing pain in her head, and the force of falling to the ground, El groaned as she tried to sit up. It was then that, through her one good eye, El saw the synth jump down from the barricade and walk to towards her. Trying to retrieve the situation, El reached down and pulled her pistol from its holster and aimed it limply at the synth. But, even after firing all eight shots into its body, the synth was undeterred and bearing down on her with its laser rifle primed. Now, El was defenceless.

Then suddenly, before El could react, a bladed metal object came flying over her head and collided with the synth’s body. To El’s wide-eyed amazement, the synth almost shattered on impact and disintegrated into a pile of artificial bones, wires, and synthetic skin. Continuing its journey, the metal object then embedded itself in the Castle barricade. El’s mouth dropped open as she saw that the object in question was Cait’s axe.

Turning around to look behind her, El saw a winded, mud stained, Cait standing roughly six feet away from her. As soon as their eyes met, Cait quickly closed the distance and knelt in front of El. “You alright, El?” Cait panted, gently placed her hand on the fresh bruise around El’s right eye. 

El could only look on in shock. “You…You saved my life, Cait.”

Cait sucked her bottom lip, unable to find an adequate response.

Tears began to well up in El’s eyes and she wrapped her arms around Cait’s neck, kissing her deeply. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, with both El and Cait oblivious to the battle continuing around them. The sound of gunfire and the cries of soldiers continued to reverberate in their ears, but neither cared. All that mattered was each other.

Eventually, El was forced to pull away and catch her breath. Still panting, she wrapped her arms tighter around Cait’s neck and pulled into a tight embrace. “Th-Thank you.” El said, lightly sobbing into Cait’s shoulder.

“Don’t mention it.” Cait replied.

* * *

“I told you it’s alright. Ow!” Cait complained as she sat against one of the Castle’s inner walls.

“It’s a very nasty burn, Cait. I just want to be sure it’s been seen to.” El replied as she gently ran a wet cloth over Cait’s mud-stained arm. After El and Cait had finished kissing in the middle of the battle, El had noticed the bright red burn mark on Cait’s arm; made by the Institute synth’s laser rifle. El had then immediately brought Cait inside and, much against Cait’s protests, insisted on seeing to her wounds.

Wrapping a roll of bandages around Cait’s arm, El sat back and gently stroked Cait’s back. “There. How does that feel?”

Cait looked at the bandage and moved her arm around, getting a good feel of it. El seemed to have done a good job. “Feels good. Thanks.” she answered, giving El a friendly smile.

“You’re welcome, Cait.” El replied, packing her first aid kit away.

Cait’s attention was then suddenly drawn to the bruise around El’s right eye. “How’s your eye?” she asked, tentatively running her fingers across it.

El hissed and recoiled away slightly. “It’s alright. Still throbbing a bit.”

“How’d you get it?” Cait asked further.

El scratched her head, attempting to remember the incident. For the most part, it had all been a blur. “I was trying to reload my rifle when I saw a synth climbing over the barricade. I managed to reload my rifle but was too slow in firing it. Before I could aim, it grabbed my rifle and hit me across the face with it. I’m surprised it didn’t knock me out.”

Whilst she was still concerned about El’s condition, Cait tried to lighten the mood. “They can’t bring you down that easily." she said, smiling.

El chuckled at Cait’s statement. “You think?”

“I know.” Cait continued.

This time, El laughed properly and leaned in to plant a small kiss on Cait’s cheek. Pulling away, El then began brushing loose strands of Cait’s fringe behind her ear.

“Stop it.” Cait grunted, recoiling away and trying forlornly to sound annoyed. No amount of frustration, however, could stop her cheeks going bright red.

Seeing through Cait immediately, El raised her left eyebrow and put on a knowing smile. “Cait, I can tell you enjoy it when I do that.”

Cait remained silent, cursing the ease at which El saw through her. Glancing across and seeing El’s glinting eyes staring knowingly at her, Cait quickly looked away to hide her blush. _“What did El do to her?”_ Cait thought to herself.

El and Cait were suddenly brought back to reality when they heard the sound of gunfire die away and a resounding cheer ring out throughout the Castle. It was soon accompanied by Preston arriving, a serious but confident look on his face. “We did it, General. We drove them back.”

El exhaled deeply, feeling immense relief. “Do you think they will come back?’ she then asked.

“After such an assault, I don’t think so. They’ll most likely be taking stock of their losses.” Preston replied.

El nodded. “I’m guessing we’ll be doing the same then? That was a tough fight.”

“We wait on you, General. If that’s your order.” Preston said commandingly, looking straight at El.

El looked up, unsure how to react. She hadn’t expected the final say to fall to her. El thought for a few minutes before responding, wanting to make sure she made the right decision. “We should wait here until we know how to get into the Institute. We can’t take the fight to the Institute until we know how to get inside.” she finally said.

“Very well, General. I shall tell the men to stand down.” Preston replied as he exited into the Castle courtyard.

Once Preston was gone, El heard the faint sound of crying. It sounded like a baby crying. It was then that El and Cait suddenly remembered Tasha. Rushing off from where they sat, El and Cait followed the cries until, coming around the corner, they were greeted by Private Davies, a crying Tasha in her arms. “I’m so sorry, Ma’am. She was fine until the cannons started firing.”

“Don’t worry. You did a great job. You kept her safe.” El replied reassuringly as she took Tasha in her arms. “Shh, shh, shh.” she soothed, bobbing Tasha up and down.

Hearing her mother’s voice, Tasha mercifully calmed down and El and Cait soon sat back they had been before hearing their daughter’s cries.

 _“The fates seem to be on your side, General.”_ A gruff female voice suddenly called out.

El and Cait looked up to find Ronnie Shaw standing before them. “Is there news, commander?” El asked, her ears pricking in acute interest.

Shaw nodded. “You have a message from Sanctuary. They’re on the radio for you.”

El immediately rose, welcoming the prospect of news. Maybe this would be the news she had been waiting for. She, however, was quick to stop as Tasha began to fuss again.

“I’ll take her.” Cait then said, stepping in and taking Tasha in her arms. “You get on the radio.”

El smiled. “Thank you, Cait.”

Reaching the radio, El sat down as Cait, Preston, Shaw, and several other Minutemen gathered around to listen to the much-anticipated news from Sanctuary. “Sturges, are you there?” El asked tentatively, pressing the button of the microphone.

 _“Hello Ma’am. Glad to hear from you.”_ Sturges’ static-laden voice answered.

“Likewise. I hear that you have some news for me. Please tell me it’s good.” El continued expectantly.

 _“Sure do.”_ Sturges replied. _“I managed to crack that Institute tape that you gave me and I’ve found another entrance.”_

El closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nostrils, trying to contain her elation. At last, things were starting to work themselves out. Composing herself, El pressed the microphone button again. “That’s great news, Sturges. Where is this entrance?”

 _“Probably best if I tell you in person.”_ Sturges answered. _“I have something else that will allow you to hack into the Institute’s teleporter network. It should allow you to teleport more people inside.”_

Exhaling heavily, El accepted that, as usual, another long journey was needed before she could make anymore progress. “I understand. I’ll set of tomorrow. See you then.”

 _“See you then, Ma’am. Sturges out.”_ The radio then went static.

Standing up, from her chair, El turned to Preston. “Well, Preston, the fates really are on my side today. We have a way in.”

“It’s great news, General. If you’re heading to Sanctuary, we’ll join you.” Preston replied.

El’s eyes widened, slightly surprised by Preston’s earnestness. “Are you sure, Preston? It seems like a big undertaking.”

Preston, however, only shook his head. “It’s nothing, General. You asked for our help and we intend to give it. Tomorrow, we’ll join you on your way to Sanctuary.”

“What about the Castle?” El then asked, concerned for the Minutemen losing the Castle again so soon after defending it.

“We’ll keep a small garrison her to watch the place. However, I doubt anyone will risk attacking us after today.”

El smiled appreciatively. “Thank you, Preston. I really appreciate your help.”

“It’s nothing, General. The sooner the Institute is gone, the safer the Commonwealth will be.” Preston said, holding his hand out to El.

Chuckling, El grasped Preston’s hand in a firm handshake. With the pact sealed, Shaw, who had been observing El and Preston’s conversation, turned to the assembled Minutemen. “Alright, listen up, soldiers! You fought well today. We scored a great victory over the Institute and we have them on the run. Now, we take the fight to them. the General has a way into the Institute and we’re going to be there with her. Pack your equipment, we move out tomorrow. Understood!?”

“Yes, Commander!” the assembled Minutemen answered resoundingly.

“Good!” Shaw continued. “But first, we achieved a decisive victory today. You all deserve a chance to celebrate. Perkins, go open the whiskey! Tonight, we’re having a victory party!”

At that moment, a booming cheer echoed through the Castle. Tonight was finally a chance to celebrate.

* * *

That evening, Cait, El, and the Minutemen had all sat around a large campfire for the victory celebration. Also accompanying the celebration was the Minutemen’s quite considerable supply of food and alcohol.

“What can I get you to drink, General?’ one of the Minutemen asked El.

“Another Nuka Cola, please.” El replied happily, revelling in the good company of the celebration.

At that response, a number of the Minutemen shouted in protest. “Oh, come on, General! You gotta have a proper drink. It’s a celebration!”

El sighed but could not contain a smile. “Sounds great. But no. I need to keep a clear head.” 

“Come on, El. I’ve never seen you drink!” Cait joined in.

Turning to Cait, El’s mouth dropped open. “Don’t you gang up on me as well.” she said, playfully shocked that Cait was not taking her side.

Armed with Cait’s swiping comment, the Minutemen stepped up their game. “Come on, General! Your girl wants you to drink. Now you have to.”

“Plus, I saved your life. You owe me.” Cait added, trying to keep a straight face.

El frowned. How did she get into _this_ situation? Eventually, however, she gave in. “Alright, fine. I’ll have _one_. One beer.”

Cait smiled at El’s answer. At last, she would finally see El drink.

* * *

Cait was struggling to keep a straight face. There was clearly a reason why El didn’t drink. El had barely finished her beer before she was getting tipsy.

“Alright!” one of the Minutemen shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “It’s story time. We’re gonna go around the campfire and get everyone to tell their best story. Funny, awesome, embarrassing, doesn’t matter. Although, embarrassing or funny would be best.”

The surrounding Minutemen immediately cheered, welcoming the prospect of embarrassing stories.

Cait, however, felt a little uneasy. She had plenty of stories, but none of them were funny. What would she do when they came to her?

Eventually, after some funny, and not so funny, stories from the Minutemen, it was El's turn to tell a story. Her mind already suffering from the effects of the alcohol, El had to think a lot harder to find a good story.

“Come on, General! You must be full of great stories!” Preston said, sounding a lot more jovial than El was used to.

After a few moments of deep thought, El struck gold on a great story. “Okay. I have a good story.” El cleared her throat to stop herself giggling. “Back when I was in the military, my medical unit and I were assigned night watch duty. That night, there was a huge thunderstorm blowing through. It was definitely one of the worst guard duties I ever had to do. About 3am, one of my buddies was caught short. To add insult to injury, the rations we were given were terrible. For most of us, it was non-stop pooping.” El was deviating. Alcohol always made her mind wander. “Anyway, my buddy immediately took off his helmet and threw it randomly on the ground. He then squatted down to do his business; insisting that we stood guard around him.”

Within seconds, El had Cait and the Minutemen on the edge of the seats.

“When he was done,” El continued, “to shield himself from the rain, my buddy quickly did his trousers up and put his helmet back on his head, only to find it was full of shit.”

The Minutemen immediately started to laugh but were still a little intrigued. “Wait? You mean-?” one of them asked.

El nodded, knowing exactly what they were meaning. “Yeah, without knowing, he squatted down over his own helmet and filled it with his own shit.”

Everyone around the campfire suddenly roared with laughter. El herself was unable to stop herself from laughing. Looking across at Cait, she saw her giggle in a way that she only ever heard when she touched her in her ticklish parts, most notably her belly button. That reaction was proof enough to El that it was a good story.

Once the laughter had died down, the Minutemen’s attention turned to Cait. “Your turn, Cait!” one of the Minutemen said in good cheer.

Biting her lip, Cait tensed up slightly. She didn’t have any entertaining stories. How was she going to muddle her way through this?

Sensing Cait’s unease, El put her arm around Cait’s waist and tried to coax her out of her shell. “Cait, why don’t you tell us a story about that axe you use?” El prompted.

Hearing El’s prompts, the Minutemen were immediately intrigued. “Yeah, Cait! Tell us about that axe!” some of them said in unison. “You must have done some awesome stuff with it today!”

Cait chuckled, remembering how she had saved El’s life earlier that day. Maybe she _could_ join in after all. “Well, when I was fightin’ the synths today, I saw El had been knocked over by another synth. I tried to run over to help her, but it was too far. I couldn’t think of anythin’ to do, so I threw my axe at it.” Cait waited for the inevitable silence. As far as she was concerned, her story was shit.

The Minutemen, however, were on the edge of their seats. “What happened? Did you get it?” one of them asked.

Shocked that people were finding her story interesting, Cait continued. “I-It shattered in to a million fuckin’ pieces. My axe then stuck itself in a wall.” Cait smiled mischievously.

To Cait’s surprise, her story was met with cheers and applause. Cait didn’t know what to think, people actually found her interesting.

“I propose a toast!” a Minuteman suddenly called. “To Cait! The Grognak of the Commonwealth!”

“To Cait!” the other Minutemen responded in unison, standing up to raise their drinks.

Cait’s eyes widened, unable to think of how to react. At no point in her life had anyone raised a glass to her.

 _“To Cait.”_ a voice then said quietly. Turning towards the voice, Cait found El with her drink raised and a loving smile on her face. Unable to stop the blushing smile spreading across her own face, Cait apprehensively raised her drink.

With Cait’s joining in the toast, the Minutemen cheered together and drank. Taking a sip of her whiskey, Cait couldn’t stop smiling. This was what being valued by a group of people felt like.

* * *

As she continued to watch El, Cait had a good sense of why El did not drink. El was starting to lose it. No sooner had El finished her beer then she was breaking into the Minutemen’s supply of rum. Now she was losing control.

Cait, on the other hand, had decided to take it easy. Whilst she had indulged in a few drinks that evening, she chose not to get wasted. Watching El was far more enjoyable. “You doin’ alright, El?” Cait asked, making sure that El was still lucid.

Lifting her head from Cait’s shoulder, El smiled coquettishly and leaned forward to expose her cleavage to Cait. “I’m fine. I feel great. You look beautiful.”

Cait snorted, amused by El’s behaviour. Even when El was drunk, Cait found it hard not to look down her cleavage. Cait needed to get El to slow down before things got out of hand. “I think you’ve had too much.” Cait said, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

Attempting to maintain her superiority, El similarly crossed her arms, pressing her breasts together in the process. “I’ve barely had a drink.” she slurred playfully before returning to her devious persona. “But I’d rather have a drink of you.”

Cait scrunched her face up. “Eww, gross.” Clearly, El was a bit of a perv when she was drunk. “Alright, come on. You’re goin’ to bed.” cait then said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

“Why don’t you come over here and make me.” El replied softly to sound as enticing as possible. El then tried to wink suggestively, but only succeeded in a dopey blink.

Cait just shook her head. “You’re goin’ to bed, now.” With almost no resistance, Cait bent down, took El’s arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. Cait then hauled El to her feet and began walking her to bed.

“You have really strong arms.” El smiled dopily as Cait lead her across the courtyard.

“Really?” Cait chuckled, keeping the conversation going for El’s sake.

El nodded, running one of her hands over Cait’s shoulders. “Yeah. I like strong women.”

Cait rolled her eyes. The sooner she got El to bed, the better.

Reaching the door to the General’s quarters, Cait and El were greeted by two Minutemen guarding the door. “You alright, Ma’am?” one of them asked, getting up from his chair.

“Yeah, fine. Just get the door. Things been okay?” Cait answered, nodding towards the door.

“No trouble, Ma’am. She’s been quiet all night.” the other Minuteman replied, opening the door for Cait.

“I’m going to make sweet love to my girlfriend.” El said loudly as the Minutemen stood aside to let Cait pass.

Upon hearing El’s words, both Minutemen frowned and took a step back. “General?” one of them asked, visibly surprised by El’s forthrightness.

Cait just sighed. “Don’t mind her. She’s fuckin’ pissed.”

With the door closed behind them, Cait quietly sat El down on the bed and looked her over. Almost immediately, El looked up at Cait and continued her coquettish smile. “What you lookin’ at?” Cait asked, seeing through El’s drunken attempt at a playful attitude.

“Looking at you, beautiful.” El replied, trying not to slur her speech too much.

Cait rolled her eyes. this was getting ridiculous. Cait knew exactly what El wanted, but was not going to give her the satisfaction. El _needed_ to go to bed. Standing El back up, Cait gripped the zip of El’s vault suit and began pulling it down. El, however, quickly slapped Cait’s hands out of the way. “Get your hands off me. If my girlfriend catches us, she’ll beat the crap out of you.”

“What?” Cait frowned, completely mystified. What was El taking about.

“My girlfriend, Cait.” El clarified as coherently as he could. “If she sees you putting your hands on me, she’ll beat you up. Only she is allowed to touch these babies.” El slurred, pressing her breasts together suggestively.

Despite feeling deeply heartened that, even when drunk, El remained loyal to her, Cait was not going to let flattery distract her. “El, I’m Cait.” she said bemusedly.

El narrowed her eyes and leaned in close. Her mouth then suddenly dropped open as if she had just realised something profound. “Cait! Oh my god! How did you get here?”

Cait’s face remained serious but she was incredibly close to laughing this time. “I’ve been here the whole time, you idiot. I’m puttin’ you to bed.”

At that, El stood back and relaxed her posture. “Well, I’m ready. You can do whatever you want to me.”

Cait simply shook her head and set to work. After fending off her drunken advances, Cait finally managed to remove El’s vault suit and underwear. She then, after nearly being smothered by El pressing her boobs in her face, slipped El into some pyjamas and lay her down on the bed. “There, finally done. God, you’re the worst person to change when drunk.” Cait huffed as she looked over a dazed El.

El just smiled dopily back at her. “You’re taking care of me.” she said softly, looking completely spaced out.

“Yeah. You owe me big time.” Cait replied seriously. "Now, you stay there. I’m gonna check on Tasha.”

“Okay.” El whispered back, staring blankly at the stone ceiling.

Walking around the bed, Cait reached the small alcove where Tasha’s makeshift cot had been set up. Inside, Tasha slept peacefully. Next to her, Dogmeat also slept soundly, acting like a silent guardian for their daughter.

Smiling at how beautiful her daughter looked, Cait turned back to the bed and, upon looking at El, put her head in her hands. El was completely passed out and lightly snoring with her mouth wide open. _“What a waste of space.”_ Cait thought to herself.

* * *

In the Castle courtyard, Cait threw her rucksack on and then carefully slipped Tasha into her papoose. Gently stroking her hair, Cait stifled a yawn as she looked over at the waste of space accompanying her. Across from her, wearing her thick pair of sunglasses, El silently sorted her bag. Cait couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed at her girlfriend. The night before had not been peaceful for Cait at all; El had been up three times in the night to throw up. To make sure El didn’t get lost, or fall over, Cait was forced to drag herself out of bed to help her. As a result, Cait had barely slept that night. The final insult was attempting to wake El up when it was time to rise. Unsurprisingly, Cait was not in the friendliest mood that morning.

Once her bag was packed, El turned to Cait and attempted a smile. “You look lovely today, Cait.” she croaked dryly.

Cait simply pouted and shook her head. “Not gonna work.” she replied sarcastically.

Bowing her head, El quietly slung her bag over her shoulders and, collecting her weapons, shuffled over to the assembled Minutemen. Similarly collecting her own weapons, Cait soon joined her.

With the Minutemen assembled, Preston stepped forward and addressed the crowd. “Good morning everyone. I trust you all enjoyed yourselves last night.”

El immediately looked away, an act that made Cait snort quietly to herself.

“Today, we head to Sanctuary. Within the next few days, the Institute should be a thing of the past.”

As the Minutemen cheered in response, El winced and covered one of her ears. Cait snorted again but her pout only intensified.

“Alright, Minutemen! Move out!” Preston commanded, turning towards the Castle’s front gate.

Taking a deep breath, Cait and a terribly hungover El began the long trudge back to Sanctuary.

* * *

In the streets of downtown Lexington, El and Cait sat in silence as they ate a snack and rested their tired limbs. They had barely spoken to each other since the Castle.

Cait has spent most of the journey watching El. Whilst she commended El for making it this far without needing a rest, Cait could tell that El felt awful. Instead of striding like she normally did, El had trudged for most of the journey. Instead of looking straight ahead, El had mainly looked at the ground. Instead of rationing her canteen, El had almost drank all of it before they made it through Boston. As the miles racked up, and El’s embarrassment at her own actions became more apparent on her bespectacled face, Cait could only laugh. Now she had finally found something that El could not do, handle her liquor.

“I’m sorry.” El finally said, breaking the endless silence.

Unable to stop herself from laughing, Cait smiled. “It’s okay. We all get drunk sometimes.”

Happy that Cait was not still mad at her, El finally allowed herself to smile. “Yeah, I suppose. I’m just not very good at it.” El said, her voice laden with embarrassment.

“You were out of control last night.” Cait laughed.

With her face red with shame, El put her head in her hands. “What on earth did I do?”

“Not tellin’. At least not yet.” Cait replied smugly.

“I’m never going to live this down, am I?” El groaned.

Smiling mischievously, Cait shook her head. “Nope. I’m rememebrin’ this forever.”

After several minutes of covering her face, El eventually looked up. “Say it.”

“Incorrigible?” Cait answered.

El nodded slowly and chuckled. “Yep.” 

* * *

“Hi Sturges. El greeted happily. “I’m here about some information.”

Sturges stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small holotape. “Sure do. I found another entrance near the opening to the sewers under Ticonderoga. Follow those sewers to the entrance and it should take you directly to the Institute teleporter room. When you get there, insert the tape in the console and that will allow you to teleport the Minutemen inside."

Taking the holotape, El smiled and slipped it into her pocket. "Thank you, Sturges. This is great news. We’ll set off tomorrow for Ticonderoga.”

“We’ll be waiting for your signal.” Sturges nodded. “Now, I suggest that you get some rest before you set off. Not to sound rude, but you look like shit.”

Sighing heavily, El closed her eyes. “You’re not the first person to say that to me. Goodnight, Sturges.”

“Goodnight, Ma’am.”

* * *

Entering her bedroom, El found Cait slipping on a blue vest for bed. As she shook her hair away from her eyes, Cait noticed El come through the doorway. “Hey.” she said softly, smiling as El entered.

“Hey.” El replied as she closed the door. “You look lovely.”

“Still out for flattery tonight?” Cait then asked sarcastically, raising and eyebrow.

This time, El returned the sarcasm. “Well, yes I am. Am I allowed to kiss you?”

Unable to turn down a kiss from such a beautiful woman, Cait relaxed. “Okay. As long as you’ve washed the smell of hangover out of your mouth.”

El immediately wrapped her arms around Cait’s waist and kissed her deeply. Exhaling contentedly through her nostrils, El hummed as she relished the feel of Cait’s lips. Cait similarly hummed as she savoured the taste of El’s pre-war lips. If this kiss were to go on forever, she would not mind a bit.

Eventually pulling away, El and Cait stared at each other, basking in their shared warmth. “What’s all this about then?” Cait finally asked, hoping that striking up a conversation would lead things further.

Licking her lips, El looked deep into Cait’s eyes, her own eyes glinting Cait’s favourite hazel colour. “We’re going to a very dangerous place tomorrow. Before you go, I want you to know how much I love you. Plus, after all you did for me at the Castle, I think you’ve earned some affection.”

Placing her own hands on El’s waist, Cait shuffled closer and pushed her chest out slightly. “I can get on board with that. What sort of thing did you have in mind?”

Clearing her throat, El raised herself to full height and similarly pushed her chest out. “Well, my girlfriend, Cait, is not going to be back for a while. If you like, I’ll let you message these babies.” she said deviously as she pressed her boobs together.

Cocking her head to one side, Cait pouted and raised an eyebrow. “Are you rememebrin’ last night?”

“Little bits are coming back to me.” El replied, leaning forward ever so slightly to expose her cleavage.

Glancing down at what awaited her, Cait did not need anymore convincing. “I better get to work then.” she said as she slowly unzipped El’s vault suit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. I especially enjoyed writing the victory celebration. 
> 
> First things first. I want to thank you again for all your support. It really means a lot and keeps me going with this story. Even though my frequency at writing chapters has dropped off slightly in recent months, this story passed over 3000 hits and over 100 users leaving kudos. The comments have also been overwhelming. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 
> 
> It actually felt good to return to this story. I was recently reading through some of my earlier chapters and it struck me how great a character Cait is. There have been plenty of occasions where I have wanted to disappear into this story, or the game, and give Cait the biggest hug. As she is going out with Cait, there have also been occasions where i have wanted to be El. It just felt so good to return to these characters. 
> 
> Anyway, if you can, please leave kudos and a comment. It really helps. 
> 
> Stay safe, have a very Happy Christmas, and I'll see you on the next chapter.


	16. The Institute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Cait begin their journey to bring down the Institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I hope you are all keeping well. 
> 
> Please enjoy this latest and very delayed chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy.

As they approached the riverbank by Ticonderoga, Cait was beginning to wonder where on earth this so-called entrance to the Institute was. They had been following the river for miles and had nothing to show for it. “Are you sure the entrance is here?” she eventually asked El.

Peering over the riverbank wall El slowed down and answered. “If Sturges is right, the entrance should be just… here.” Turning her head to Cait, El pointed straight down. “It must be down there.”

Looking towards the where El was pointing, Cait scrunched her nose up in disgust. El never told her that she would need to swim. “Down there?” she asked sneeringly.

“I’m afraid so.” El replied, bringing Cait out of her thoughts. “It seems we’re going to have to swim through.”

Cait chewed her lip. She really wasn’t sure about this. There was something she had not told El. She had never considered it important until she came face-to-face with where El had pointed. El needed to tell El before it was too late.

“Cait.” El called, once again brining Cait back to reality. “Take one of these waterproof bags. Put your backpack inside. It will keep it dry.”

Cait quietly took the bag and slipped her gear inside. Once she had tied it up, she waited as El similarly slipped her own bag inside another. Once El was finished, she turned back to the edge of the wall and leaned over. “I can’t see any stairs down. I think the only way we’re going to get close is if we jump.”

At that prospect, Cait could not hold back. If she did not speak, she would only regret it. “El, I need to tell you somethin’!” she blurted.

El immediately turned to Cait, a look of deep concern on her face. “What’s wrong, Cait?" she asked, walking towards Cait.

Cait looked down, already feeling embarrassed. El had worked so hard to get here; what would she think? “I… I… I can’t go down there.” she stuttered, glancing towards the river.

Noticing Cait’s stuttering El frowned, confused by her reluctance. “Why not? Cait, we came all this way.”

“But I… I… I can’t swim.” Cait replied, looking at her feet. She hated to tell El this when they were so close.

Upon hearing Cait’s words, her face softened. Yes, they had come this far, but how could she have known the entrance would be underwater. It was not Cait’s fault that she couldn’t swim. Stepping forward, El took Cait’s hand. “Cait, it’s alright. I didn’t know.”

Looking up, Cait tried to salvage the situation. “We can’t stop now. We need to get in somehow.”

El was silent for several moments, clearly trying to think through a solution. “I have an idea. I’ll lead the way and you hold onto me.” she eventually proposed.

“How though?” Cait asked back, her embarrassment quickly turning to panic.

Seeking to bring Cait’s anxiety down, El took both of Cait’s hands and placed them on her waist. “Keep your hands on me and don’t let go.”

After intently watching the river below, Cait eventually looked up at El and nodded.

“Come on then.” El smiled. “Let’s get this over with.” Taking Cait’s hand once again, El lead to Cait to the edge of the wall so they were standing at the edge. Leapfrogging over the wall, El and Cait were seen sitting with their feet dangling over the edge. Now that they were both positioned, El squeezed Cait’s hand tightly to get her attention. “Ready?” she asked.

Breathing heavily, Cait quietly composed herself. Closing her eyes, she finally nodded.

“Alright.” El continued. “On the count of three. One… Two… Three!”

Simultaneously, El and Cait threw themselves off the wall and into the grey water below. As soon as she hit the water, any composure Cait had instantly evaporated and panic set in. The water was freezing. Cait immediately kicked and writhed as she tried desperately to reach the surface.

After several excruciating seconds of panic, Cait felt two hands grip her waist and haul her to the surface. As her head came above the water she gasped as her frozen lungs desperately sucked in air. “Cait, Cait, it’s alright, it’s alright! I’ve got you! Just breathe!” El shouted, holding Cait firmly to stop her writhing.

Safe in El’s grip, holding onto El’s shoulders tightly Cait started to relax. “It… It’s so… S-so cold.” she whispered, shivering violently.

“I know. I know. We’ll be out of it soon. First, we need to get through the entrance.” El looked down, attempting to see through the cloudy water. “Cait, I need you to take a deep breath, alright?”

Steadying her breathing, Cait nodded apprehensively.

“Hold onto me, alright? And keep hold of your bag. If you lose that you won’t be much help.” El continued, Loosening her grip on Cait’s waist slightly.

Preparing herself, Cait nodded again. Her grip on El’s shoulders, however, had not loosened.

“On three… Two… One!” El then commanded, taking a deep breath. Following El’s lead, Cait obediently took a deep breath and lowered herself beneath the water.

As soon she lowered herself under the water, Cait was blind. The water was so murky, she could barely see El in front of her. Struggling to adjust to her surroundings, Cait felt herself being pulled forward as El attempted to navigate her way towards the entrance.

Feeling her way forward, El blindly gripped the entrance to a large sewage pipe. This must be the secret entrance. Sturges did say that the entrance was in the sewers. Landing her feet on the bottom of the sewage pipe, El steadily felt her way along, unable to see anything in front of her.

Wrapped tightly around El’s waist, Cait was beginning to panic. The enclosed environment of the pipe was making Cait claustrophobic. The resulting panic was also making her lose the essential oxygen in her lungs. With her chest burning, Cait began to believe that, if not saved, she would drown.

The sewage pipe seemed to go on forever. All the residual sunlight from the entrance had long since vanished. Now, El was forced to use her blind sense to her feel her way through. With the added struggle of having to carry Cait alongside her, El was losing energy. She had been underwater for so long; the lack of oxygen was becoming unbearable.

Then, just as she thought she would drown, a faint red light appeared to El in the distance. Immediately, El began to kick violently, trying to haul herself and Cait through the pipe.

Finally, after what felt like a slow descent into a flooded hell, El felt the edge of the pipe open out into a large square space of brick and concrete. Looking up, El immediately made for the surface. Gasping loudly, El instantly twisted around hauled Cait to the surface.

As she finally reached the surface, Cait inhaled frantically, gasping for air. Coughing her lungs back into life, Cait gripped El’s shoulders tightly to stop herself from slipping back under.

Looking around, El spied a set of brick steps a few metres in front of them. all she needed to do was get Cait there and she would be safe. “It’s just over there, Cait.” El said breathlessly, pointing towards the top of the steps. “Just a few metres more. Come on, Cait. You can do it.”

Seeing the safety of dry land in front of her, Cait threw all caution to the wind and scrambled towards the steps. Following her lead, El swam quickly in the same direction, her arm wrapped around Cait’s back to keep her from sinking. Kicking frantically through the water, Cait was suddenly relieved to feel hard brick beneath her feet. Moving forward, Cait then felt a second, slightly higher, step hit her feet. Before long, Cait was close enough to reach out and grip one of the high steps. Using all the strength she could muster from her frozen muscles, and with a lift up from El, Cait then hauled herself out of the water and crawled onto the ledge. “There. Safe and sound.” El said as she helped lift Cait out of the water.

Once Cait was safely on the ledge, El slipped her protective bag off her shoulder and lifted it out of the water. She then grabbed the high step and pulled herself up onto the freezing water.

Now that they were both safely on dry land, El and Cait were finally able to catch their breath. Sitting next to each other on the ledge, El and Cait silently watched the water slowly settle back into a steady flat ripple. Looking across to Cait, El saw that she was shivering uncontrollably. “Cold?” El asked her softly.

Cait nodded and hugged her arms to her chest.

Smiling, El wrapped her arm around Cait’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I’m so proud of you, Cait. You did brilliantly.” she reassured tenderly.

Rubbing her hands across her chest, Cait took a shaky breath. “I hate the water.” she then said quietly.

El leaned in and kissed Cait on the side of her head. “Well, hopefully, that part is over now.” Looking past Cait, spied the next part of their journey. Just behind them was a high red brick wall with a small electronic keypad in its centre. That might be their next step. Maybe the next stage of the secret entrance was behind that. Returning to Cait, El gently squeezed her arm to get her attention. “You sit tight, okay. I’m going to work out where we go from here.”

Cait continued to shiver, but she nonetheless nodded.

Retracting her arm, El stood up and walked towards the number pad. Sturges had told her about this first level of security. Hopefully, the information he had given her was accurate. Taking a deep breath El imputed the code, hoping that it would work. As soon as El imputed the number, a loud clank made her jump and she turned to face it. Leaning over the ledges railing, El’s heart sank as she saw a hatch open to another pipe open. Looking down at Cait, El noticed that she had also seen the pipe open. El was going to have to work hard to get Cait back in the water. Tentatively, El took a knee next to Cait and put her hand on her back. “Cait, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to go back in the water.”

Cait immediately shook her head. “I’m not goin’ back in!” she replied loudly, shivering violently.

“Please, Cait. We need to keep moving. The Minutemen are counting on us. This is our only way into the Institute.”

Cait just looked down. “You can go. I’m not goin’ back in that water.”

El tried not to grit her teeth. “Cait, you wanted to come. You can’t back out now.”

“I know what I fuckin’ said!” Cait spat angrily. “But I’m not goin’ back in!”

El took a sharp breath and chewed her lip, becoming more and more frustrated by Cait’s stubbornness. She understood Cait’s fear of drowning, but she couldn’t back out after all her big words. El would not stand for it. However, shouting never worked in the past with Cait. Cait required an incentive to persuade her. Taking a deep breath, El calmed herself down and leaned in close to Cait. “Your daughter is waiting for you, Cait. The faster we move, the faster you’ll see her again.”

Cait suddenly stopped shivering and El could tell that she had made a decision. If anything would drive Cait forwards it was her family. “Let’s get this over with.” Cait finally said, standing up and collecting her gear.

Giving a triumphant smile, El similarly stood up and collected her gear. Tentatively, El stepped back into the water and shuddered violently. It was so fucking cold. Once she had submerged up to her waist, El turned around and took Cait’s hand. “Remember, hold onto me.” she said, wrapping Cait’s arm around her waist.

Slowly descending the steps, El and Cait were soon back up to their weeks in ice cold water. Using all the strength she had, El hauled herself and Cait over to the pipe entrance. Reaching out, El gripped the edge of the pipe and was able to to relieve some of the weight off her shoulders. Whilst her armour did provide good protection, it was so goddamn heavy. Having to pull Cait along as well also did not help at all.

Returning to the matter at hand, El carefully, moved her legs around to find something to her rest her feet on. Miraculously, El was just tall enough to rest her tiptoes on the bottom of the pipe. “Cait, I can feel the bottom of the pipe. Just keep a hold of me.”

“Just keep goin!” Cait shouted back breathlessly, her head only just above the water.

Cait had a point. Taking small steps to keep her balance, El and Cait slowly made their way through the pipe. Breathing heavily, El groaned loudly as she tried desperately not to collapse from the weight of both her gear, armour, Cait’s gear, and Cait herself. If there was no light at the end of the tunnel, El feared that she would sink.

As they continued, El began to feel the water current begin to move with increasing speed. El wasn’t sure that this meant, but it didn’t seem good. Suddenly, as El took another step, she felt her foot slip. Before she could even react, El sank under the water and was carried along by the current. Hanging onto her waist, Cait was similarly dragged under the water and pulled alongside El.

The subterranean torment felt like an age but, within seconds, El found themselves falling. Crashing into another pool of water, El immediately grabbed Cait by the waist and pulled her to the surface.

Gasping for breath, Cait grabbed El’s shoulders and shuddered.

Attempting to keep Cait close, El looked around to find another ledge marking the edge of the sewage tunnel. Using her remaining strength, El reached the edge of the tunnel and attempted to prize Cait off her. “Grab the ledge, Cait!” El shouted breathlessly, pushing Cait towards it.

Seeing the edge of the tunnel in front of her, Cait reached out and pulled herself out of the water. With Cait safely back on dry land, El climbed out and took a seat next to her. “I think that’s the last of the swimming, Cait.” she said, tapping Cait’s leg.

This time, Cait appeared more composed than before the first pipe. “Good. Fuckin’ hate the water!” she shuddered, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm up.

El gave a reserved smile and moved her arm around Cait’s waist. “Maybe when this is over, I can give you some lessons?”

For the first time since they arrived at the entrance, Cait smiled; amused by El’s suggestion. “Sounds fun. Just as long as I can see you in a bathin’ suit.” she answered mischievously.

Happy that Cait had found her smile again, El chuckled. “Not before I see _you_ in one.” she said, returning the smile.

“Perv.” Cait then said quietly, a slight blush creeping across her pale frozen cheeks.

At this, El raised her eyes and gave Cait a very knowing look. “Takes one to know one.” she said sarcastically. Looking around at where the tunnel lead, El then returned both of them to their mission. “Come on. We need to move. Unpack your gear.”

Collecting her waterproof bag, Cait untied it and pulled out her jacket. After patting out some of the creeses, she slipped it over her still damp shoulders and untucked her wet hair from the collar. She then retrieved her shotgun and backpack and loaded two cartridges into the chambers. With her gun loaded, Cait slung both her shotgun and backpack over her shoulders and finally retrieved her axe. Fully fitted out, Cait turned to see El buckling her belt around her waist and slinging her backpack over her shoulders. Once she had loaded her pistol, El looked up at Cait and nodded. “Let’s get moving. Stick to the edge of the tunnel.”

Continuing their journey through the tunnel, El and Cait soon came to a junction. “Where we supposed to go now?” Cait asked, looking over at El.

El looked around, trying to find something that would guide them. “Well, this pipe with the convenient arrows on it looks a lot newer than the others. I think we should follow that.”

With their course set, El and Cait followed the pipeline through endless fowl smelling tunnels, hoping that nothing sinister was lurking around the next corner. Wrinkling her nose, Cait was incredibly disappointed by the Institute so far. If all the Institute had to show for all the rumours was a bunch of stinking sewage tunnels, then Cait didn’t see why El’s son would want to live down here.

Eventually, El and Cait came to a passageway that seemed to have been bored into the rock between to tunnels. Looking ahead, El could see their own tunnel continue towards to dead end. This passageway must be the way forward. “Looks like we’re going down there, Cait.” El said as she stepped up into the passageway.

Cait had just stepped up into the passageway when they both heard a low growl behind them. Readying her axe, Cait turned to find a feral ghoul crawling out of the sewage and staggering to its feet. “El! We got ghouls!” Cait called.

In an instant, the ghoul let out a retching snarl and lunged at Cait. Already poised to receive the blow, Cait swung her axe directly onto the ghoul’s leg. As its leg split away from the rest of its body, the ghoul fell limply in the water, unable to do anything but crawl toward Cait and El. Stepping out of the passageway, Cait walked over to where the crippled ghoul lay and brought her axe down onto its head.

As the stagnant water was slowly stained red, and the ghoul stopped wriggling, Cait wrenched her axe free and stepped away. “Fuckin’ hate these things.” she then said, washing the putrefied blood off her axe.

El moved to reply but was cut off by the sound of multiple retching growls coming from every corner of the tunnel. It soon dawned on El that they were in for a fight. Ghouls hardly ever travelled on their own. Cait’s little execution must have woken the others. Readying her pistol, El walked next to Cait and aimed into the darkness.

They came all at once. Emerging from smaller tunnels, and under pipes, roughly six feral ghouls charged at Cait and El, their skeletal hands reaching out to swipe at them. El immediately opened fire, emptying an opening shot into the ghoul’s shoulder. Stumbling forward, the ghoul fell limply into the water and remained still. Darting to her left, El just managed to dodge as another ghoul and a withered ghoul lunged at her.

Rushing to El’s aid, Cait swung her axe into the ghoul’s neck, almost severing its head from its body. Tumbling to the ground, the withered ghoul’s crumpled into a pile of rotting irradiated flesh.

Over the next few minutes, El and Cait finished off the last ghouls and finally had the chance to breathe. Wiping her brow, Cait sighed deeply. El was right, moving fast did dry her out.

“That seems like the last of them.” El said, reloading her pistol.

“How the fuck do these things get down here?” Cait replied with a question, nudging one of the dead ghouls with her foot.

“No idea. Don’t care either way.” El answered as she stood next to Cait.

Cait could only chuckle. El always said cool, yet goofy stuff when they had been in a fight. “Suppose you’re right.”

“Come on. We need to keep moving.” El then said, patting Cait on her back.

Taking one last look at the ghoul’s body, Cait followed El as they entered the passageway. “Right behind ya.” she said, catching El up.

Compared to the flooded tunnel, the passageway was a welcome relief for El and Cait’s wet feet. Looking ahead, El could just see the end of the passage open out into another tunnel. At least they would get a brief respite from the stinking water.

They had just made it around a bend in the passage when El suddenly heard something and stopped. Coming around the next corner, the hideous, bloated form of a Putrid Glowing One appeared before them. El immediately backed away as the unnatural abomination of over two-hundred years of radiation exposure and mutation come ambling towards them. Raising her pistol, El readied herself for what was certain to be a hard battle.

Before she could fire, however, Cait rain in front of El and sunk her axe directly into the ghoul’s stomach. Reeling from the force of Cait’s blow, the ghoul gave a choking growl and stooped down to clutch its injured stomach. Wrenching her axe free, Cait, in a characteristic closing flurry, lifted it high above her head and brought it down onto the Glowing One’s neck. This time, Cait swung her axe with such power that, upon impact, the ghoul’s head was severed clean from its body.

As the severed head rolled its way towards her feet, and the lifeless body sank flaccidly to the ground, El lowered her pistol in stunned silence. El had been preparing herself for a fight to the death, and Cait swooped in and finished the job in a matter of seconds. El couldn’t help but feel slightly aroused.

Oblivious to El’s gormless silence, Cait shook her axe to remove some of the irradiated blood and gore that had become stuck to the blade. After washing it off in a nearby pool of irradiated water, Cait finally turned around to find El staring at her. “What?” she asked, getting El’s attention.

Shocked out of her ogling, El fumbled a response. “Uh… nothing. You’re really good with that thing.” she stuttered, gesturing to Cait’s axe.

“What can I say? I’m good with my hands.” Cait replied, a playful smirk creeping across her face.

El chuckled. “You can say that again. Come on. Let’s get going. We must be getting close.” As El passed Cait, she couldn’t stop giving her arse a quick spank.

Not expecting the sudden contact, Cait jumped slightly; a reaction that deeply amused El. “Hey! Quit it, perv!”

“Sorry.” El laughed, flashing Cait a smile. “Your arse is just yearning to be spanked.”

Cait frowned, trying to find a retort. However, El was already walking away. Rolling her eyes, Cait just huffed and continued following El.

Entering the second tunnel, El and Cait resumed their journey, following the Institute pipeline. Coming around the next corner, however, El was elated to finally find something other than endless pipelines. Further down the tunnel, a metal causeway led up to from the water level towards a hermetically sealed door.

Walking up and along the causeway, Cait readied her axe for whatever enemy was lurking behind the door. “You think the Institute is behind that door?” she asked.

Cait had barely finished the question when El threw her arm out in front of her and pushed her against the wall. “The fuck you doin’?” Cait called out, trying to wriggle out of El’s grip.

“Sssh!” El replied, attempting to listen through a small gap in the wall.

“What’s goin’ on?!” Cait continued to ask, not caring for her volume.

“Cait, just be quiet! I’m trying to listen!” El whispered loudly through gritted teeth.

Sighing loudly, Cait leant against the wall and stayed quiet, looking around the area nonchalantly.

Now that Cait was quiet, El steadied her breathing and leaned in closer to the gap in the wall. Just within earshot El could hear two voices muttering to each other. One voice was robotic whilst the sounded distinctly feminine in tone. The Institute clearly had different generation synths for various duties.

Peering through the gap in the wall, El could see one of the cruder robotic synths guarding another large pipeline. _“What was so important about that pipe that it needed guarding?”_ El thought to herself. This must be the entrance.

“What d’ya see?” Cait whispered, not wishing to feel left out of El’s clandestine activities.

Retreating from the gap in the wall, El whispered, “Two synths. One I can’t see. The other is guarding another pipe.”

“Wait, there are synths?” We must be gettin’ close.” Cait replied, showing an eagerness that El was slightly surprised by.

El tried to resist a smile. In such a torturous journey, it lifted El’s heart to know that Cait was paying such attention. “Yeah, I think so. Follow my lead. There’s a sealed door with a terminal over there. I need to crack if we’re to get inside.”

Getting to her knees, El quickly scurried under the gap in the wall and looked back at Cait. Gesturing towards Cait, El encouraged her to follow her lead.

Understanding immediately, Cait similarly got to her knees and scurried over to El’s position. “What now?” Cait then asked as she quietly got to her feet.

“Just hang tight, alright. I need to get this door open.” El answered as she began typing on the door’s terminal. El hated hacking. No matter how much practice she had, El just couldn’t seem to get it right. El could never understand the random word association encryption these terminals always used. Nate was always better with computers than she was. Sighing as she began typing, El would just have to suck it up and hope she got the password right.

It went as well as El had expected it would. Three attempts down and El had nothing to show for it but a locked door. Hovering over another random word, El wished this would be the right one. She couldn’t face being locked out of this terminal when she was so close. Taking a deep breath, El pressed the ‘Enter’ button and hoped that her rudimentary computer skills were up to scratch.

The affirmative bleep of the terminal allowed El to breath a little easier and she was granted access. Maybe her hacking skills weren’t so bad after all. Selecting the option marked ‘Open Security Door’, El jumped aside as the door swung open.

As soon as the door opened, El could hear commotion coming from the corridors ahead. El’s actions had clearly been heard by the synths. _“Is someone present?”_ she heard one of the synths say.

Dropping back down to her knees again, El scurried back over to Cait’s position and readied her pistol. “Okay, Cait. I need you to do something for me.” she said commandingly, her mind firmly fixed on her mission.

“Watcha need?” Cait replied obediently. Normally, Cait would have at least looked to argue about El’s commands. However, seeing the determined look in her yes, Cait did not argue. El was on a mission and _she_ needed to support her.

Nodding, El continued. “As quietly as you can, I need you to creep through that door and route out the patrolling synth. While you that, I’ll handle the one guarding the pipe. If that _is_ the Institute entrance, it’s not likely to leave its post.

Tightening her hold on her axe, Cait nodded. “I’ll get it done.” she answered, lifting herself to a crouch position and creeping through the open doorway.

Following Cait’s lead, El returned to the gap in the wall and slowly peered through. Just as she assumed, the synth had not left its position. Taking a deep breath, El raised her pistol and fired a round into the synth’s hip. As the bullet hit home, pieces of synthetic covering shattered and the synth fell to the ground, unable to move.

With the synth incapacitated, El heard the distant sound of metal smashing into something. Cait must have found the other synth. El then raised her pistol again, firing second round into the synth’s head. The synth’s head almost shattered with the force of the bullet and the remains slumped onto the ground, its fingers twitching spasmodically. As El lowered her pistol, Cait entered the room and looked up at El. “You get the other synth?” El asked through the gap.

“Yeah. I smashed it in half.” Cait answered.

“Great job, babe!’ El smiled. “Stay there. I’ll come to you.”

Nodding, Cait smiled back. “I’ll be waitin’.”

Getting to her feet, El walked through to the open door and made her through to Cait. Along the way, El came across the carcass of the synth she sent Cait to deal with. Cait didn’t mince her words. She had sliced the synth clean in half. Cait could certainly be relied upon to destroy synths. Turning left, El entered the pipe room and found Cait leaning against the wall, her axe resting next to her. “Hey, babe.” El said, approaching her.

“Hey.” Cait replied, giving El a cute smile. “Why you started callin’ me babe?”

“I always call you babe.” El said, not sure why Cait was asking this all of a sudden.

“Not you don’t.” Cait continued, looking to argue.

Confused about why Cait was suddenly bringing this up, El shrugged her shoulders. “Would you prefer that I didn’t?”

“N-No. I didn’t say that.” Cait countered, shaking her head. “I was just sayin.”

“Well then,” El continued, “Let’s keep moving then. We’re close. I can feel it.” As El moved away toward the pipe, Cait jumped as El, once again, smacked her arse.

“Geez!” Cait shouted. “Throw you down a sewer and you’re horny as fuck!”

Looking back, El flashed Cait a mischievous smile. “I’m just happy that we’re so close. Hey, come help me with this hatch. I think we can get through here.”

Following El’s orders, Cait made her way over to her position. Bending down, Cait gripped the pipe and hauled it upwards. The hatch gave a great deal of resistance, but, with enough strength, it eventually gave way. The hatch opened up into another large meandering pipe. Much as before, the smell was not at all inviting. Scrunching her nose up, Cait recoiled away from the smell as best she could.

Despite Cait’s reaction, El was not in the mood for waiting. “No point in hanging around. Let’s go.” She said, climbing into the pipe.

Huffing, Cait reluctantly climbed in afterwards. “Great. More stinkin’ pipes.” she sighed glumly.

“It’s not for long, Cait. We’ll be out soon.” El replied.

Shrugging her shoulders, Cait sought back a gag as she inhaled more of the foul-smelling air. “You owe me big time for this.” she huffed as they trudged through the glutinous layer of sewage that coated the bottom of the pipe.

This time El was gracious enough to let out a chuckle at Cait’s whinging. “When this is over, you can have all the cake and sex you want.”

That response peaked Cait’s interest. “I’ll hold you to that.” she said, smirking impishly.

After another march through another seemingly endless tunnel, El and Cait came to a filtration grate that marked a dead end. However, El had already spotted an exit hatch. “Cait, give me a hand.” she called out, attempting to lift the hatch.

Cait immediately rushed to El’s side and began lifting tha hatch. Much to Cait’s disgust, the hatch gave them even more trouble than the previous one. The layer of sewage at the bottom of the pipe appeared to have sealed it even tighter.

Mercifully however, after having away the sewage with their bare hands, El and Cait were able to budge the hatch enough for it to open. Peering through the open pipe, El’s heart lifted as she saw that they had wound up inside the Institute teleporter room. Sturges was right all along. “We’re here, Cait!” El cried, clambering out of the pipe. “I can’t believe we made it!” Turning around, El reached down and offered a hand to Cait. “Here, Cait. Grab on.”

“Thanks.” Cait replied as she took El’s hand and pulled herself out of the sewage pipe. Upon reaching El’s level, Cait slipped her bag off her shoulders and retrieved her canteen. Unscrewing the cap, Cait poured some water onto her hands and set about washing the stinking sewage off. Living with El had given Cait new sense of cleanliness that she never knew she had.

“Good idea, Cait. I hate having dirty hands.” El said, retrieving her own canteen and scrubbing her hands clean.

Once their hands were sufficiently clean, El and Cait returned to the matter at hand. “So, this is the Institute?” Cait asked, looking around with a slight, but increasing sense of awe.

“Well, one small part of it.” El replied as she made her way to the teleporter terminal. Slipping her hand in her coat pocket, El pulled out the small holotape that Sturges had given her when they returned to Sanctuary. If all went to plan, this tape would hack the Institute network and allow her to teleport the Minutemen inside.

Holding her breath, El inserted the holotape and leaned in close to the terminal screen. Scrolling down the screen’s options, El highlighted the terminal’s newest edition, marked _‘Institute Remote Relay Sequence’_. Pressing the entre key, El stepped back and waited.

After a few seconds, a low humming began emanating around the room. As El watched, the humming got louder; until several bursts of bright blue light flashed before her eyes. Out of the flash walked Preston Garvey, his face immediately looking around with a sense of wonder. “Wow! That was something else. Guess we’re all still in one piece. So, this is the Institute?” he asked as El came around from the terminal. “They could have stayed down here forever. Why did they need to come and mess with us?”

El wasn’t sure how to answer. All she cared about was finding Shaun and burning the Institute to the ground. “It doesn’t matter.” she eventually responded.

“No, don’t suppose it does.” Preston replied, adjusting his laser rifle in his hands. “Anyway, here we are. There’s no turning back now… you’re going to need this. it’s a Fusion Pulse Charge, once it’s attached to the reactor it can be detonated remotely.” Preston handed El a small square shaped device covered in wires and a large yellow and black radiation symbol emblazoned on the front. It didn’t look all that intimidating when held in her hand. However, El knew well enough that it was the reactor itself that would deliver the killer blow. Carefully, El slipped the device into her bag.

“You get that on the reactor”, Preston continued, “and we can trigger an explosion that’ll destroy everything the Institute has ever built. Just make sure we give the civilians a chance to escape before we blow the place. We’re not here to commit mass murder.” Preston then looked past El towards the myriad of doors and corridors leading into the Institute. “We’d better hurry. They’re going to realise what’s going on before too long.”

El nodded. “I agree. We should move quickly. Is… is she here?” she then asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“Yes, General. She arrived with Private Davies.” Preston replied, gesturing his head back towards the teleporter. He then walked past El to join Sturges at the teleporter terminal. Sturges, you’d better get to work on this teleporter of theirs. We need that thing to running as soon as possible. You pull us back as soon as we give the signal. And anyone from the Institute who wants out, you let ‘em go so long as they aren’t shooting at you.”

With Preston gone, El walked among the freshly materialised Minutemen and found Private Davies exiting the teleporter, a very dazed and somewhat fussy Tasha in her arms. “How was she?” El asked as she approached her.

“As good as gold, General.” Davies replied. “A little shaken from the teleporter, but that’s to be expected, I think.”

Taking her into her arms, El gently rocked Tasha to calm her down. “Yes, I can understand that. Go on, join your comrades. I’ll fine from here… Sssh… Sssssh… Sssh… Don’t worry, Tasha. Mommy’s here. it was just a little teleporter.” El then whispered into Tasha’s ear.

As Tasha settled into El’s arms, and the Minutemen departed towards the impending battle with the Institute, El and Cait were left alone. “Hey, spuirt.” Cait said happily, gently taking Tasha’s tiny hand between her thumb and forefinger. “I missed you. We’re gonna keep you safe, alright.”

Upon looking up at Cait, Tasha gave a beaming smile and shook her hand that was entwined with Cait’s. it was a smile that always made Cait’s heart melt. “You sure about this?” she then asked, looking back up at El.

El’s face did not fill her with much confidence. The happy reaction at being reunited with Tasha instantly dropped and a fresh uncertainty washed over her. “I… I don’t know. But I have to try.”

“I know that!” Cait continued. “But bringin’ a kid here, our kid, you really think that’s a good idea?”

Whilst she did not appreciate Cait’s questioning when they were so close, she did understand her concern. “I know it’s not a good idea. But I don’t see any other way. I need to do this.”

“Okay.” Cait nodded, accepting that El needed to finish what they started.

Happy that Cait was still willing to follow her, El smiled and kissed her forehead. “Come one, Cait. Let’s go.”

* * *

Descending the passageway from the teleporter room, El and Cait took a sharp left and through an open side door. The door took them into what must have been an old and disused section of the Institute. The chipped walls, broken windows, and rusting furniture were dear signs that this area had not been used in years. Cait was not impressed. “Is this _really_ the Institute? It’s shite!” she said with a sneer.

“This is just the early stuff, Cait. We’re not quite there yet.” El replied as they passed the remains of several synths.

Cait, however, did not drop her sneer. They had walked down endless corridors and through countless rooms with nothing to see but blown out lights, cracked paint, and dilapidated ceilings. So much for scourge of the Commonwealth.

Coming down yet another set of stairs, El and Cait were met by the Minutemen gathered around the entrance to a disused lab. “What’s going on?” El asked as she reached the bottom step.

“This lab is causing us some problems. There’s too many synths and turrets inside.” Preston replied.

The sight of a laser beam flash past and Cait was enough proof El needed. “Shite!” Cait shouted as the beam impacted the wall next to her as she reached the bottom step.

Immediately, El and Cait ducked behind the entrance, avoiding the sea of laser beams coming towards them. looking around, El tried to find anything that would get them through. Eventually, El spied a terminal. Peering over the parapet of a broken window, El could see the exposed terminal wires lead through to a closed robot storage unit. Thinking something over in her head, El wondered if accessing that terminal might turn things around.

Scurrying over to the terminal, El set about another round of hacking. Why was it that she could go for days and weeks without needing to use computers, but, once inside the Institute, she was having to use them constantly; and holding a baby in her arms no less.

Happily, however, this hacking went far better than before, and she quickly figured out the bizarre random word. As the screen changed to highlight the available options, El scrolled down to the inviting ‘Activate Prototype’ option and pressed entre.

Peering through the broken window into the lab, a loud robotic clank ushered in a sentry bot. reacting immediately, the synths and turrets opened fire on the rogue robot rampaging through the lab, firing endless laser beams into the sentry’s armour.

“What you do?” Cait asked, trying to cover her ears as el dropped down next to her.

Holding Tasha as close as she could, El did her best to shield her from the battle going on around them. “Activated the Sentry bot to deal with the synths.”

“Good thinking, General!” Preston cut in as she reloaded his laser rifle. “Give them a taste of their own medicine.”

The conversation, however, was cut off abruptly by an almighty explosion as the rogue sentry bot went into self-destruct mode. As debris and pieces of burning sentry and synth rained down around them, el gently rocked Tasha as she started to cry. “Ssssh…Sssh…Sssssh… it’s alright. They’re gone. They’re gone. Sssh…Ssssh…” El whispered, bringing Tasha in close.

“Let me take her for a bit, El.” Cait asked, extending her arms to El.

Shaking her head, El tried to stay calm as Tasha continued to cry. “It’s fine. It’s fine.”

“Come one. I can handle it.” Cait continued, attempting to pry Tasha out of El’s arms. “Let’s me take her for a while.”

Letting out a slightly defeated sigh, El carefully handed Tasha over to Cait. “Hey, squirt. Don’t need to cry. Mommy’s here… Sssh… Ssssh.” Humming a soothing tune into her tune, Tasha began to settle down. Planting a small kiss on Tasha’s temple, Cait looked up to find El staring at her, a loving smile on her face. “What?” she asked quietly. 

“Nothing. Just…you’re a really good mother.” El replied. Getting to her feet, El held a hand out to Cait. “Come on. We’re nearly there.”

Sucking her lip from El’s unexpected compliment, Cait took El’s hand and slowly got to her feet, conscious to not disturb Tasha. Walking through the lab, El and Cait were careful to dodge the plethora of synth parts strewn across the floor. El couldn’t help but chuckle as she looked over at the sparking husk of the sentry bot. using robots to destroy robots, ironic.

As they descended another set of steps, and passed through another series of rooms and corridors, El and Cait reached an open hatch in the floor. “Down here, General. The institute should be just behind this door.” Preston said, looking up at El.

“Okay. We’re right behind you.” El then turned to Cait. “I’ll go down first and then you can lower Tasha down to me.”

Cait nodded and carefully adjusted Tasha in her arms. “Alright. Be careful.”

Dropping down to the edge of the hatch, El jumped through to the lower level and looked up at Cait. “Alright, lower her down.” she called, extending her arms up to Cait.

Lowing herself onto her stomach, Cait stretched out her arms and cautiously lowered Tasha down to El. “I’ve got her. I’ve got her… Weee!” El called out as she took hold of Tasha and brought her down to her level. “Been on a crazy adventure, haven’t we?” El asked, smiling at Tasha.

Grabbing her coat lapel, Tasha big hazel eyes widened, and she gave El a broad smile.

El’s bonding was, however, cut short as Cait similarly jumped down to land next to her. She, however, landed too hard and looked close to falling over. “Whoa, whoa! Steady. Nearly went over there, Cait.” El said as she wrapped an arm around Cait’s waist to steady her. 

“Sorry.” Cait said breathlessly, placing her hand on El’s shoulder for support. “Jumped a bit too far there.”

El chuckled and gave Tasha a small jolt. “Mommy jumped a bit too far, didn’t she? Nearly fell over.” she said happily to Tasha.

Looking over at Cait, Tasha’s cheeks went red, and she let out an adorable giggle. Cait just rolled her eyes and pouted her lips. “Yeah, real funny.” she said, gently poking Tasha. “Laugh at mommy, why don’t ya. Want me to take her again?”

Handing Tasha back to Cait, El nodded. “Sure.”

With Tasha secure, El and Cait continued through another bunker like passageway until they reached final doorway. Passing through, El and Cait were finally inside the Institute.

Entering close behind El, Cait’s mouth dropped open. Cait had heard endless stories about the Institute, but nothing could have prepared her for what greeted her. Squinting her eyes at the almost blinding overhead lights, Cait looked out at a shining white laboratory covered with brightly coloured plants. Cait couldn’t take her eyes away from the myriad of coloured plants littering the various soil beds that populated the laboratory. Cait had never seen colours so vibrant in her life. _“Were these plants from before the war?”_ Cait thought to herself.

“Cait!” El suddenly called, bringing Cait out of her thoughts. “Come on!”

Running over to El’s position, Cait continued to be bewitched by the plethora of colours and brightness around her. “It’s… It’s…so…clean… And… the colours…” Cait just about managed to say in her gormless ogling.

“I know it is, Cait. But our home in Sanctuary is also clean, and no-one is trying to kill us there.” El replied seriously, her mind set on her task.

Cait did not reply and just followed El through from the bio-lab to the main atrium. Upon entering the atrium, Cait looked up in complete awe at the scale of the place. If this place was as big as it was, how far underground were they? Around them, laser beams and bullets whizzed over their heads as the minutemen’s battle continued. El and Cait needed to get Tasha out of the battleground. The sound of the gunfire was getting too much for her.

As they stepped over the carcasses of multiple synth bodies strewn about the floor, a jovial southern drawl came on over the Institute PA system. _“Hey there, General. Found the reactor…”_ Sturges’ voice called out over the static. _“Looks like you need to get yourself to Advanced Systems area. Only, well, it’s locked. I can’t override it from here, looks like the command can only come from the Director’s personal terminal. You’re gonna need to get access to it somehow.”_

El immediately looked up to the rows of apartment windows ascending the atrium area. This was her chance to both save Shaun and destroy the Institute once and for all. “Where we goin’, El?’ Cait eventually asked, unsure of what El was thinking.

“We need to get up there.” El replied, nodding up towards the apartments above. “Follow me and keep Tasha safe.”

“What you think I’m doin’?” Cait retorted, somewhat sarcastically as El lead them into the central elevator.

Descending to a lower level, Cait followed El along several empty corridors until they came to yet another elevator. Pressing the call button, El stood back to catch her breath as the elevator approached. “How big this place?” Cait asked, gently rocking Tasha to keep her calm.

“Even I don’t know. This is over two-hundred years’ worth of work.” El answered as the elevator doors opened.

The elevator ride up was very quiet. Cait could see in El’s eyes that her mind was close to spiralling. All this time, El’s mind had been set on this moment. Now that she was so close, El could only wonder what would happen now. Would she succeed? Cait wanted to reassure El and tell her that everything would be alright. But her innate cynicism couldn’t shake her doubt. El had failed once to win her son back; how would trying again work when they could just destroy the Institute now? Cait, however, was smart enough to keep her opinions to herself when she needed to.

After what seemed like an interminably slow elevator ride, the door opened into a small room dominated by what Cait could describe as a cage. Cait frowned at the sight of something as base a cage in a place like this. El had also clocked the glass cage and was quick to look away. She couldn’t forget that day when, upon entering the Institute, she was greeted by a strange synth child begging for his father. That entire event had been a blur and El wondered what ever happened of that child.

Opening the door at the far end of the room, El and Cait entered a large two-level apartment, seemingly empty of anything personal. Cait could only wonder how, so deep underground, the Institute could run all of these facilities and amenities.

Unlike Cait, El did not stop to admire the décor and made straight for the stairs. Upon reaching the upper level, El turned to find something that made her heart sink. In front of her, in an Institute medical bed, lay her son.

Following close behind El, holding Tasha close, Cait’s mouth dropped open slightly. El was telling the truth; lying on a medical was a wizened old man, on the brink of death. Peering over El’s shoulder Cait could see the pained expression on her face. she looked on the brink of tears.

Taking a slow step forward, El took several deep but shaky breaths. She didn’t want to give in but seeing her son in this way had imputed a horrifying sense of doubt in her mind. “I never expected to see you again. Come to see the reactor, have you? We got it working without you.” Shaun said breathlessly as El approached him.

Stopping before his bed, El looked down at what was left of her son. “I’m sorry it’s come to this, Shaun.” she replied, almost a whisper.

“You’re sorry?” Shaun asked further, pure anger in the remains of his voice. “You can’t be _that_ sorry if you are here going through with it. It’s not enough that lay here dying. Now you plan on what, destroying everything? Tell me then, under what righteous pretence have you justified this atrocity?”

The doubt in El’s mind that had grown upon seeing Shaun only grew with every word that was uttered. “I came here to save you from these people, and to make the Commonwealth a safer place.”

Shaun sighed, clearly resigned to his fate. “I thought as much. Well, it doesn’t matter now, I suppose. You’ll accomplish your mission and rain humanity’s best hope for the future. My only question now is why you’re standing here? Is it regret, or did you just come to gloat?”

“Shaun, I came back for you. If you help me, fewer people will die.” El answered, her limbs shaking.

Shaun scoffed, almost amused by El’s begging. “Why would I ever consider helping you?”

It took all of El’s resolve to remain calm. But she _had_ to believe that, by offering to help, she could convince Shaun to come with her. “Shaun, if you help me, I promise that I will protect the civilians, to the best of my ability.”

Closing her eyes, Shaun exhaled deeply, reluctantly accepting of El’s offer. “Very well. The terminal behind me, entre access code 9003. That will disable some of the synths. Now go… leave me.”

El’s breath caught in her throat as Shaun turned his face away from her. Gripping the edge of the bed, El felt as though she would faint. Standing a few steps behind her, Cait held Tasha close her chest, wanting to take El away from this place. If they stayed here any longer, it would only cause El more pain.

Turning to the terminal behind Shaun’s bed, El slowly walked over to it, using anything she could find for support. Reaching the terminal, El punched in the access code and waited for the options screen to appear. As the screen changed, El scrolled down and selected all three of the terminal’s option - the evacuation order, the lockdown, and the synth shutdown. Once she made a promise, she always kept it.

Closing down the terminal, sirens and flashing lights blared around her as the lockdown protocols were disengaged. It was then that a resolve came over her and her face hardened. If she didn’t try one last time, then she would not be able to live with herself. Turning away from the terminal, walked over to Cait, and pulled the Fusion Pulse Charge out of her bag. “I need you to give me Tasha, Cait.” she commanded, placing the device on a nearby table.

“What?” Cait frowned, holding Tasha tight.

Already extending her arms to take Tasha from Cait’s grasp. “I need you to give Tasha to me.”

Cait did not offer too much resistance and Tasha was quickly cradled in in El’s embrace. “What you gonna do?” Cait asked, handing Tasha over.

Kissing Tasha’s temple, El stroked her soft dark hair. “I need to save him, Cait.”

Understanding what El was intending to do, Cait just shook her head. “You don’t know if it will work.” she said despondently.

Closing her eyes, El fought back tears. “I have to believe that it will.” Wiping her eyes with her free hand, El then grabbed the pulse charge and handed it to Cait. “I need you to take this, Cait.”

Cait’s mouth dropped open in shock, looking as if El had just slapped her. “You what?!”

Pushing the device into Cait’s hands, El asked again. For fear of breaking down, El couldn’t look Cait in the eye. “Please, Cait. I used you to finish this for me.”

Cait obediently took the device but did not move. “I’m not leavin’ you! I said I was comin’ with you!”

Finally working up the courage to look at her, El placed a hand on Cait’s cheek. “Please, Cait. I have to do this myself. I need you to go with the Minutemen and fix this device to the reactor… Please…” 

Cait looked deep into El’s eyes and could see they were twisted with fear; fear that, after everything she had done, it could have all been for nothing. If El was to fail, at least Cait could help her achieve the goal of making their family safer. “Okay. I’ll do it. But you better be at that teleporter when I get there.” Cait eventually said, pointing a finger at El.

“Thank you…” El whispered as she leaned in to plant a kiss on Cait’s lips. Closing her eyes, Cait hummed contentedly. Pulling away, El gently stroked Cait’s hair and tucked several strands of hair behind her ear. “I promise.” she whispered softly.

From the gesture, Cait knew immediately that El was telling the truth. Slipping the pulse charge under her arm, Cait slowly backed away from El. “I love you.” she then declared.

“I love you too.” El replied, giving her a broad smile. “Now go. I promise that I’ll be back.”

As Cait turned away and exited the room, El clutched Tasha tightly to her chest and turned to find Shaun staring at her again. “You care deeply for her, don’t you?” he began. 

Looking back at where Cait had just left, El nodded. “I do. I love her.”

Letting out a small scoff, Shaun chuckled. “Always the saint. Standing up for the downtrodden.”

“She is more than you think. She loves her family, _our_ family.” El retorted, nonetheless agreeing with Shaun’s assessment.

“I can see. Her love for that child is to be admired.” Shaun continued. He, however, did not look at Tasha clutched in El’s arms.

El’s mouth dropped open, shocked by Shaun’s almost nonchalant opinion of her lover and their family. “Shaun, this _child_ is _your_ sister. Look at her. Come with me and we will all be there for you.” El then presented Tasha to Shaun, her big hazel eyes looking over at him in wondrous curiosity.

Shaun simply looked up at the ceiling, oblivious to El’s plea.

Losing all sense of hope, El’s doubt turned to anger. “Shaun, look at her! LOOK AT HER!”

Hearing her mothers’ anguished cries, Tasha began to cry. Shaun’s reaction, however, did not change.

As Tasha cried in her arms, El could feel herself wavering as all hope seemed to leave her. Not even a glimpse of his own sister could convince Shaun to come with her. What had become of her son to make him fall so low? Bringing Tasha back to her chest, El gently bobbed her up and down to calm her down. Stroking her soft hair, El’s mouth began to quiver as tears and sobs crept through her stalwart façade. With tears streaming down her face, El gently kissed her crying daughter’s head before looking back up at Shaun. “Y-You’re no son of mine.”

Shivering ever so slightly, Shaun took a deep breath. “Goodbye, mother.” He wheezed, glancing away from El.

Not able to suffer here any longer, El slowly turned around and proceeded to the door, the distressed cries of her daughter reverberating in her ears. Upon reaching the open doorway, she turned back one last time. “Your father would be ashamed of you.” She said through painful sobs.

With that declaration, El turned away and walked through the doorway, never to return.

* * *

Cait reached the door to the Advanced Systems just as the lockdown barriers disengaged. It was there that she was joined by the Minutemen. “Cait, where’s the General?” Preston asked as she approached.

“She had somethin’ to do.” Cait answered, forcing open the Advanced Systems door. “I got the bomb though. Come on! We gotta job to do!”

As the door shunted open, Cait and the Minutemen piled into the Advanced Systems area. Almost immediately they were fired upon by the synths assigned to guard the reactor. Cait, however, did not wait and, as the Minutemen engaged the synths, she made for the far door.

“Hold this position!” Preston called to the Minutemen. “You men, follow me and Cait!”

“Sir!” a selection of Minutemen shouted in unison as they followed Preston and Cait towards the reactor room.

The path towards the reactor room was like the route to the secret entrance had been, endless empty tunnels. Dealing with a couple of troublesome turrets along the way, Cait and the Minutemen soon came to the entrance to a large open area dominated by a large drum shaped structure. Snaking around the structure was a series of ascending steel walkways that lead up towards a central window. Behind the window was a flashing blue light. Cait knew immediately that that was the reactor.

No sooner had they entered arrived when they were fired upon by several synths guarding the reactor. These synths, however, appeared for more disciplined than their counterparts in the sewers. Cait and the Minutemen immediately ducked behind cover.

Peeking over the parapet, Preston tapped Cait on the shoulder. “If we cover you, get up and plan the device on the reactor!” he shouted over the deafening sound of bullets and laser beams.

Getting to her feet, Cait nodded as she prepared to make run for it.

“Alright, men! Covering fire!” Preston then shouted as she and the Minutemen opened fire on the defending synths. Seeing her chance, Cait broke cover and ran towards the steel walkway, her axe primed and ready to strike.

Cait had just reached the level when she was met by an armoured synth preparing to fire a rocket launcher at her. Raising her axe, Cait launched herself at the synth and severed its arm clean from its torso. Reeling from the force of the impact, the synth dropped the rocket launcher and struggled to maintain its balance. Sensing her chance to bring it down, Cait raised her axe for the killer blow.

But, this time, the synth had calculated Cait’s move and instantly caught her axe in its remaining hand. Cait was unable to pull her axe away as the synth slammed it into the steel walkway and, with a single heavy stamp of its foot, sheared the axe head clean off the shaft.

With nothing to defend herself, Cait was sent flying backwards as the synth violently kicked her in the stomach. Hitting the reactor with considerable force, Cait gasped and groaned as she tried to catch her breath and get back to her feet.

Gasping for breath, Cait was then gripped by the throat and unceremoniously lifted off the ground. Kicking the synth’s shin, Cait writhed in vain to break herself free. Eventually, feeling the synth’s grip on her neck tighten further, Cait remembered the shaft of her broken axe still in her hand. Gritting her teeth, Cait let out a vicious snarl and, with one powerful thrust, jammed the shaft deep into the synth’s neck.

The synth immediately loosened its grip and Cait was able to breathe again. She then began reaching behind her, trying to unsling her shotgun from her shoulder. Just as she had unhooked it, however, the synth tightened its grip again and threw her across to the end of the walkway.

Similar to the synth’s earlier throw, Cait hit walkway’s rusted metal railings with such force that they completely snapped off, sending both them and Cait tumbling to the ground below. With lightning-fast reaction, Cait managed to grab the edge of the walkway to stop herself falling. Cait was now hanging off the edge of the reactor walkway, kicking helplessly at the air beneath.

Panting heavily, look in on in terror as her synth opponent began slowly pulling the shaft her broken axe out of its neck. Still struggling to keep her grip on the walkway, Cait’s eyes darted around her anything she could use to defend herself. She couldn’t lose to a synth when she was so close to her goal.

Eventually, looking ahead, Cait’s eyes fell on her shotgun. It was must have slipped from her grasp when she was thrown. Taking a deep breath, Cait hauled herself further up the walkway and threw her hand out to grab it. Unfortunately, the shotgun was just beyond her reach.

Cait’s time was running out. Looking back towards the synth, her eyes widened as she saw it fully wrench the broken axe shaft from its neck and begin walking towards her. Cait needed to get her shotgun now. Mustering all her strength, Cait yelled as she pulled herself up and threw her hand to grab it. To Cait’s relief, this time, her fingers just gripped the shotgun’s sling. Gritting her teeth, Cait yanked the firearm towards her until it was close enough for her to grab the stock. Just in time, Cait raised the weapon high and fired it into the synth’s chest.

Upon impact, the top half of the synth instantly exploded as the two cartridges hit home. As the synth’s carcass crumpled to the ground, Cait hauled herself off the edge of the walkway and back to her feet. “Piece ‘o Shit!” Cait grunted as she passed the synth’s mangled remains.

Slipping her bag off her shoulders, Cait reached inside and retrieved the Fusion Pulse Charge. Getting to her knees, Cait then fixed it to the reactor window and flicked the arming switch. There was no turning back now.

Cait immediately collected her bag, shotgun, and the remains of her axe and made her way back to the Minutemen. “Is the device in place, Cait?!” Preston asked as Cait reached them.

Cait nodded. “Yeah. It’s ready. Let’s get out ‘o here!” Cait replied, already running towards the door leading back to the atrium.

Following Cait’s lead, Preston gestured to the Minutemen. “Let’s go, everyone! Follow Cait! Back to the teleporter!” he commanded, ushering the minutemen to Cait’s position.

As she and the Minutemen ran back through the long, abandoned, passages, Cait suddenly thought back to her departure with El. When she had left El in her son’s room, she looked so helpless. She could only hope that El was waiting for her when she the teleporter.

* * *

Reaching the teleporter room, Cait looked around the Minutemen expectantly. But she couldn’t find El anywhere. Where was she? “Hey! Where the fuck is El?” Cait shouted at one of the Minutemen she had met in the teleporter room.

Visibly shocked by Cait’s angry demand, the Minuteman’s eyes widened. “We haven’t seen her, Ma’am.”

“Well, why didn’t you fuckin’ look for her?!” Cait shouted, pure venom in her voice.

The Minuteman’s eyes widened even further. “I… I…”

Cait only turned away when she heard the elevator doors clunk open. Looking down the corridor, Cait saw El slowly amble out of the elevator, her eyes puffy and her cheeks streaked with tears. In her arms she held Tasha, herself crying into El’s chest. Cait immediately ran to her. “El! You’re back! Where you been?” she asked frantically.

Sniffling as tears continued to fall down her face, El did her best to respond. “H-Hey, Cait. C-Can you take Tasha?”

Cait immediately rushed to El’s side and carefully took Tasha in her arms. “Sure. Hey… Hey… Ssssh… Sssssh… Mama Cait’s here.” she said softly into Tasha’s ear. “Where… Where’s Shaun?” she then asked El, conscious that it was only the three of them.

Closing her eyes, El shuddered as a sob escaped her lips. “He’s… He’s… He’s not coming… I-Is the charge fitted?”

Cait nodded, slightly taken aback that El changed the subject so quickly.

With that, El’s face hardened. “Okay. It’s time to go. We have to get of here.” El then walked through to join the Minutemen; a truly baffled Cait following close behind her.

El had just entered the teleporter room when she was greeted by Preston. “General! It’s good you’re back. Cait fitted the charge to the reactor, so we’re good to go.” He then turned his attention to Sturges at the terminal. “Sturges, we’re done. Get us the hell out of here!”

Looking up from the terminal, Sturges gave El a strange look. “I would, man. But…this kid showed up. Claims he’s the General’s son.”

El frowned at what Sturges had just said. _What kid?”_ El thought to herself.

“Please, mom… Don’t leave me here! I want to go with you!” a small childlike voice shouted, approaching her.

El looked down and, with wide eyed shock and terror, took a step back. Standing before her, in a small Institute jumpsuit, was young boy. Staring up expectantly, he had a look on his face that, for some reason, she recognised. It was a face that Nate would make when he was worried or anxious. The child’s eyes also seemed to freeze El where she stood. They were a deep brown that appeared to bore into her soul. Those were Nate’s eyes. El didn’t know what to do.

Cait similarly stood frozen before this child. Cait had never seen this child before, but, for some reason, he looked familiar. This child, apart from the deep brown eyes, was the spitting image of El. Cait could nothing but stare.

“W-W-Why did you call me mother?” El eventually asked, finally able to speak.

The child gave a slightly dumbfounded look, confused about why El was asking something so stupid. “What? You’re my mother! Why else would I call you that?”

El couldn’t do anything. The sight of this child had completely fried her brain. Why was he calling his mother? Her son was dying in a bed far below them, soon to be buried under a mountain of rubble. Something didn’t make sense. “I… I…” El stuttered, the right words trapped in her throat.

El’s stuttering was suddenly cut off as Sturges rose again from his terminal. “Alright were good to go. I’ll send you to the detonation site, then set they relay to shoot the kid here back to the Castle – we’ll get him a change of clothes and look after him. You press that button extra hard when you get there. See you on the other side…”

Preston immediately sprang into action and began ushering El and Cait into the teleporter “Let’s go, General. It’s time to finish this.”

With her mind unable to think, El could do nothing but follow Preston’s orders. She however could not take her gaze away from the child standing in front of her. “Mom, wait, don’t go!” he called, sounding on the verge of tears.

Once inside the teleporter El was finally able to breathe again. What the hell just happened? Who was that child? El’s child felt close to exploding.

As El racked her brain with questions, a blindingly bright light suddenly flashed before her eyes and her vision went completely white. Not once though did the mysterious child leave her sight.

* * *

A flashing light zapped El back to reality, and she found herself high above the Commonwealth skyline. Looking around, surmised that she was atop the Mass Fusion building. Around her, El saw Cait, Tasha, Preston, and a selection of Minutemen. But, to El’s unease, there was no sign of the child. For reasons she could not explain, she needed to know where he was. Where was he?

“Whenever you wanna see ‘humanity’s best hope for the future’ go up in smoke, just hit that button.

Hearing Preston’s invitation, El looked down to find a device resting atop a rusting oil drum, its service dominated by an enormous red button cover. Of course, she would be the one responsible for destroying the Institute. Looking out at the Commonwealth, El thought about everything she had done to get here; everything she had done to find her son. Could she really bring herself to bury her son?

But then she remembered her last encounter with her son; how he had almost mocked her love for Cait and refused to look at his own sister. She then thought of what could happen if she allowed the Institute to survive. El could never protect her family if the Institute continued to operate within the Commonwealth. El could not inflict that on her family. Closing her eyes tight, El slowly flicked the arming switches. Once the device was armed, the red case covering the detonator button opened up. With the device primed, El raised her fist high and punched the button.

Almost immediately, a blinding white light flashed over the Commonwealth skyline and the ground behind the CIT ruins erupted in fiery explosion. In an instant, centuries of earth, dirt, dust, and rubble were thrown up into a huge mushroom cloud that plumed up high into the sky above.

Looking out at the explosion, Cait immediately held Tasha to chest, shielding her as best she could from the blast. Unsurprisingly, the blast was too much for baby Tasha and her crying only intensified. Rocking her up and down, Cait tried to calm her down. “Shh… Ssssh… Sssh.” She whispered as the blast dissipated into the mushroom cloud.

With the blast fading, El looked out upon what was left of the Institute. There was nothing left to do now. The decisions she had made could never be changed. She would live with these decisions forever.

“Holy shit… that was one hell of a bang, wasn’t it?” Preston finally, bringing El back to the present. “So that’s it. The Institute is destroyed. It’s finally over… You did issue the evacuation order, right? I didn’t notice in all the chaos.”

Turning around to face Preston, El did her best to compose herself. “Yes. We gave e-everyone a chance to get out.” she couldn’t help but think of Shaun as she spoke.

Still fixated on the mission, Preston appeared oblivious to El’s anguish. “Good. I thought so. It was just…watching that explosion…I just hope as many people as possible got out. I hate that we had to do that, but they left us no choice. It was war. But now the war against the Institute is over. The way’s now clear for the Commonwealth to finally come together and build something good for the future. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows from here on out.”

In a strange way, El had to agree with at least some of what Preston was saying. “True. But they’ll be other threats to the Commonwealth.”

“Definitely. Preston replied. “The Institute was the most insidious threat we’ve ever faced. They kept the Commonwealth divided for centuries. There are plenty of other problems left to deal with. The Minutemen are not going to be out of a job for a long time, as much as might wish it. We deserve to enjoy our victory. But soon enough, it’s going to be time to get back to work.” With a brisk salute, Preston walked off to join the other Minutemen.

El could only look at her feet. Enjoy their victory; what did that mean? Looking up at Cait, El saw her give a friendly smile, clearly concerned by El’s distress. Despite loving Cait more than anything, l could not bring herself to smile back, and her gaze returned to the ground. Letting her feet wander, El slowly ambled towards the inside of the Mass Fusion building. “El?” she heard Cait call from behind her. She however did not turn around.

Descending a series of steps into the nearest surviving floor, El found a small room and slowly walked inside, closing the door behind her. Now that she was alone, El unslung her bag from her shoulder, threw her coat off, unstrapped her armour from her body, and unbuckled her pistol holster. Now free of her defences, El leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. As she hit the floor, El buried her face in her knees and cried like she had never cried before.

Weeping into her knees, El thought about everything she had been through to find her son, killing Kellogg, going to the Glowing Sea, saving Cait from a slow agonising death, falling in love, pregnancy and childbirth, and battling through the Institute. It was all for nothing. She had failed. She had made a promise to her dead murdered husband and had broken it. Only a failure of a wife would break a promise like that. But that was El through and through. As tears streamed down her face and stained her filthy vaultsuit, El believed that there was nothing left to do now bit accept that she was nothing but a but failure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that. Bit of a sad note to leave the story at, but I believe that it was necessary. How will El and Cait come to terms with this? 
> 
> First of all, I would like to apologise for how long it's been since my last chapter. I have been writing this chapter since the beginning January, but just have not able to find the time to complete it and type it. Reasons, include work, trying to keep a social life together in lockdown, trying to play Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, and The Witcher 2 all at the same time, continuing the Witcher book series, and attempting to not go insane in this crazy world. Hopefully, however, now that my country has a plan ned route of lockdown, and with spring approaching, things will start to change. 
> 
> I should also confess that another reason this chapter has been so delayed is because I have been dreading to write for ages. A lot of this chapter consists of the character going from one place to another very quickly. This is something I really don't find find to write. I much prefer chapter that have lots of emotional heart to heart moments with El and Cait. As a result, I tried to put as many of those in here as possible to keep me going. But, now it's done, I can move onto more enjoyable things. 
> 
> Anyway, Please leave kudos and a comment if you can. It really helps. I would also like to thank you all again for your support. Last time I checked, this story is nearing the 4000 hits mark. That is way beyond anything I ever expected. So thank you for that! 
> 
> *I also wanted to point out that, whilst writing this chapter, I made a slight change to Chapter 15. In my previous draft, when Cait tells her story at the Minutemen's victory celebration, they raise a toast and call her the 'Axe Thrower of the Commonwealth'. Playing some ideas around in my head, I decided to change the name. Now they call her 'Grognak of the Commonwealth.' I think this is a much better title for Cait because it likens her to Grognak the Barbarian, whose axe Cait wields. Plus, with Cait's liking for superheroes, I thought it made more sense and would suite her reaction better. It also leaves little naughty future idea open involving Grognak's costume. But that will be for another time. ;) *
> 
> I know that I said this at the end of the last chapter, but I will try to make chapters out more regularly. Although, my brain is already telling me that I'm being too optimistic here. 
> 
> Stay safe and I'll see you all on the next chapter.


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